Gladiolus
by IAmStoryteller
Summary: Three years after the battle against the Elves, everyone thought that the biggest threat was over. No one expected a foreign wizard to screw everything up for a lot of the Magic Knights of the Clover Kingdom. PART 1 Gladiolus Verse (Black Clover Canon Divergent AU)
1. Chapter 1

SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Canon Compliant up to Chapter 215, Canon Divergence afterwards SPOILERS  
Julius is alive, but age regressed to a teenager, basically it is treated as a Magic Knight only secret that he's alive (and only the Captains, Yuno, Asta, Noelle, Mimosa, and Leopold know)

Asta, Yuno and the rest of their age-mates are 18-years-old, nearing 19  
Therefore all characters are aged up 3 years from their canon age

If you don't like Original Characters, I'm not sorry? I had a lot of space to fill. I'm sure that we'll get to meet members of the extended Royal Families and the like over time in the actual manga, but for the sake of the story I made my own.

This Hanahaki AU is not just romantic in nature, but also platonic and familial.

WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:  
Blood, vomiting, coughing

* * *

**The Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Remembrance Day**

The day was warm, the sun was high in the sky, and the eighteen-year-old Golden Dawn Magic Knight Captain Yuno, wind wizard, hated security duty in Capital City. Today was Remembrance Day, a day in the Clover Kingdom where everyone remembered fallen Magic Knights and loved ones lost from illness or otherwise. Yuno was not big on the day, as he hadn't anyone to really remember.

The big event this Remembrance Day was a big speech and gift-giving ceremony from visiting royalty from the Heart Kingdom. The Queen of Hearts, the Wizard Queen of her Kingdom, was in the Capital as the guest of the Royal Family of the Clover Kingdom. Capital security was heightened for this reason since there had been two major attacks in the Clover Kingdom Capital City (the first attack of the Midnight Sun and months later of the same year, the battle of the leader of the Midnight Sun and Wizard King Julius Novachrono).

"You looked thrilled as always, Yuno," said the same cheery loud voice of his childhood friend and his one and only rival, Asta. Asta, despite being eighteen too, hadn't grown much, but he still looked cool in the new improved Royal Knights robes. His hair was still a rat's nest of fluffiness, but he carried himself with a great confidence that was definitely not a front. Asta had been recently made the Captain of the special Magic Knight force, but still also maintained his spot in the Black Bulls. Yuno was quite proud of him, even if he didn't say it out loud.

"Asta," said Yuno, smirking (he hoped he was smirking and not smiling like Bell and Mimosa and Klaus always noted when Asta was near). "How's your sweep?"

Asta grinned. "Nothing out of the ordinary, but I don't think I like that Sekke guy and some other Green Mantis knights checking travel papers at the gate is a good idea." Asta had Noelle only with him, despite Yuno knowing that almost every Magic Knight was in the Capital.

"Wizard King Fuegoleon knows best," responded Klaus, who had been following behind Yuno. Yuno, being the Captain, preferred to have people he actually liked working with him, so naturally he chose Mimosa and Klaus to stick by him while Langris lead a small team and so did Alecdora.

"You're right," said Asta, agreeing. "I hope this ceremony doesn't take forever, though."

Yuno snorted. "Remember not to be late. All of us Captains have to be on the stage in our seats for the speech on time."

Asta nodded and turned to Noelle. "Remind me of the time."

"Geez, you would be lost without me, dork," teased Noelle. Noelle Silva, a member of the Royal Family, a powerful water wizard, had grown much in the last three years since the clash against the elves. Much to Yuno's secret irritation, Noelle and Asta had grown much closer as teammates and as a friends. Though it seemed to him that Noelle had long since lost her crush on Asta, there was an ease and comfort in which Asta and Noelle interacted that set Yuno on edge.

"I really would," joked Asta, right back. The soft smile that Asta gave Noelle hurt Yuno's heart a bit.

Suddenly feeling slightly put out, Yuno said to Klaus and Mimosa, "Let's go. One more perimeter sweep." They took their brooms out, while Asta and Noelle waved at them while Yuno and his squad mates flew off, as the two Black Bulls went to continue their ground-level sweep.

In the air, Mimosa said, knowingly, "You know, Noelle's gonna get the impression that you don't like her if you run away every time Asta and her interact."

Yuno didn't respond to her comment as he scanned the crowd and used his magic sensing abilities for anything out of the ordinary. He heard Mimosa sigh. He knew from experience that she was going to pull him aside later to talk about his feelings. It was something that he didn't look forward to happening, but she meant well.

After circling the city two more times with nary an incident, it was time for Yuno to make his appearance at the stage as the Golden Dawn Captain.

The stage was set up just like during the Star Festival and the Winter Festival and Yuno took his place between Asta and Nozel Silva. Fuegoleon, the Wizard King, was there, waiting for the King of Clover and the Queen of Hearts to start the event. Yuno spotted the younger Julius Novachrono in the front row of the crowd, grinning up at them.

"This should be good," muttered Asta at Yuno's side. The King of Clover, the simpering man, walked side-by-side by the far more impressive Queen of Hearts, the Wizard Queen of the Heart Kingdom.

Both the two young men from Hage still didn't like the King of Clover, finding him more annoying than ever, especially as the two grew in the ranks. Yuno just hoped that the Clover King did not insult the Queen of Hearts and start an incident.

But at the moment, it was Fuegoleon's job to keep the peace between the two monarchs, but it will be his job in the future when Yuno became Wizard King.

Fuegoleon bowed slightly as the monarchs approached the podium set up. The Vermillion Royal sent a look at the captains on the stage, a warning to be on the best behavior.

"Good afternoon, everyone! I'm glad that you all could make it," said Fuegoleon, as one of the attendant wizards used a sound spell to make his voice louder. "Today we remember those we lost. On this Remembrance Day, we have a special guest visiting our beloved King Augustus Kira Clover XIII, all the way from our western neighbor and ally, the Heart Kingdom, the Queen of Hearts, the Wizard Queen of the Heart Kingdom, and the Wizard of Weather, Queen Ophelia Elizabetva Theodora Nova Heart VII. Please welcome her with a hearty cheer!"

Everyone erupted into clapping, Yuno and the other captains were not doing it as enthusiastically as the crowd, but it was still loud.

Fuegoleon moved out of the way and let the Queen of Hearts take center stage. Yuno did not miss the look annoyance pass over the face of King Augustus.

"Thank you everyone for the warm welcome," said the Queen of Hearts. "I am happy to be here with you all to observe Remembrance Day. I also want to thank King Augustus for hosting myself and my family for the event. The Clover Royal Family had always been known for genuine kindness towards guests and strangers alike."

Yuno observed the Queen of Hearts. Of course, as a Captain, he received a packet of information on her from Klaus to prepare him. Queen Ophelia gave off a very calming air, much like Wizard King Julius used to do for people. She had black hair and green eyes, and stood no more than 5 feet tall. Dressed in the Heart Kingdom's traditional Queen Robes and tiara, she struck not an imposing figure but a kind, mother-like figure.

Unlike their king, she was, at least, known to be competent. She was the one that forged the alliance with the Clover Kingdom, aided by her old friend Julius Novachrono. It was why the Queen of Hearts was there at their Remembrance ceremony, because she was honoring Julius. Yuno felt like it was unfair that someone that had been good friend with Julius didn't know that he was still alive, but it was a closely guarded secret until Julius could grow up more and gain more magical ability.

"…Your former Wizard King was some kind of special man, kind, reliable and knowledgeable, a giant magic nerd, and someone who constantly borrowed my books and never returned them," Queen Ophelia spoke clearly. Yuno may have tuned her out, but she sounded quite fond of the former Wizard King. "So, I gift to the indominatable Magic Knights of Clover, a statue of a great man, imbued with strong powers of luck so you may all prosper."

With a wave of her hand, the giant cover of the statue that was now in the center of the Capital revealed a decent sized statue of Julius Novachrono's likeness in the shape of clearly lightning-forged crystal. Yuno was able to sense the luck magic from his seat, even Asta shifted next to him, sensing the residual _ki_ no doubt.

"I hope that our two great Kingdoms can continue to come together _cough_ to provide a way to better society as a whole," the Queen of Hearts continued. Her voice was becoming quite raspy, but she didn't stop and Yuno felt something off in the air. "_Cough_ I really wish that Julius was _cough_ here to see the great things _cough_ _cough_ we will all do to change the world. _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_"

With the last resounding heavy coughs, the Queen of Hearts bent over and black petals fell from her mouth along with an unhealthy amount of blood dripping down from her lips. Fuegoleon was at the Queen of Hearts' side in an instant to steady her and aid her to a seat. It didn't stop there. Out of the corner of Yuno's eye, he saw his several of his fellow captains fall to the ground, also coughing up bloodied flower petals (all different kinds, Yuno didn't know the names of the flowers). To surprise, it was Nozel Silva, Mereoleona Vermillion, Dorothy Unsworth and Charlotte Roselei (some of the strongest captains in his opinion, other than him and Asta, of course) who collapsed. The remaining captains scrambled to help the victims.

Yuno was out of his seat and scanning the ground for unusual enemy _mana_ when Fuegoleon barked out, "Yuno take a team and go find a curse wizard! Asta, stay here, we need your swords. Magic Knights crowd control!"

Asta summoned his anti-magic swords, while Yuno scanned the crowd. "Luck, Klaus, Noelle, Vanessa, I need you, let's go."

"Oh My DEAR," screamed the Clover King, as he panicked when his grand-niece Lady Finesse Calmreich went to the ground too, coughing out brightly colored daisy petals.

Soon the air was filled with screams of terror and panic.

Yuno moved. The three Black Bulls and Klaus followed behind Yuno, flying off into the crowd. Luck was exceptional at sensing magic, just as much as Yuno. Vanessa's abilities would also be useful. And Klaus had the investigative mind. Noelle was their firepower along with Yuno.

"Captain, we have find the enemy first," said Klaus, "and we have to take him into custody to interrogate him."

"I sense someone with strong magic moving quickly to the south entrance," called out Luck, lightning charged all around him as he flitted in the sky. He sounded way too happy.

The group went south towards the south gate entrance/exit. The crowds of people were dispersing into the buildings making a clear path for them, at least. The people were used to incidents like this and knew what to do to get out of the Magic Knights way.

Yuno knew that they absolutely had to catch the enemy. What spell or curse had people throwing up flower petals? He had never heard of such a thing before. There were a lot of other questions that they needed answered. However, the main questions were if this was a Clover Kingdom enemy or a Heart Kingdom enemy and how the enemy got through the tight security of Capital City (i.e. how did no one notice?).

When they arrived at the south-side, Yuno sensed the person that they were tracking was no longer south but suddenly at the east entrance. Luck noticed.

"East, move east," called Yuno, as the team abruptly changed direction.

"How did this guy get in," grumbled Noelle from the back of Vanessa's broomstick.

"Worry about that later," responded Klaus, "this may turn into an inter-kingdom incident if the Queen of Hearts dies!"

Yuno knew that Noelle was more concerned for her oldest brother at the moment, since the Silva siblings started to mend their broken relationships.

"He's going north now, this asshole," shouted Luck, sounding determined to kick some ass soon.

Yuno, annoyed, hated this wild goose chase. There were wizards out there able to mask their _mana_ or make it seem like they were in one place, when in reality, they weren't.

At the north-side, it seemed that the enemy was too cocky because Yuno spotted a man on guard tower, clearly waiting for them to show up.

"Took you Clover Kingdom dregs long enough," taunted the man, dressed in the typical garb of a Heart Kingdom wizard. "How's Queenie? Did she suffocate yet?"

Luck and Yuno didn't wait, they charged the man. Yuno used his wind magic to attempt to catch the rouge wizard. The rogue wizard, however, dodged and threw a flower spell at them. The flowers whipped by Yuno's face. Nothing happened, as Yuno's used his magic to blow the flowers far away.

While Yuno was busy distracting the rogue wizard, Luck and Klaus prepared a large spell to combine the lightning magic and the metal magic.

"You should give up now," taunted Yuno to the rogue wizard.

"Yeah, right, pretty boy. I can't give up until the Queen is dead." The man's next spell was more like flower dust or something.

Yuno rolled his eyes. **"Wind Magic: Wind Blades Shower."**

At the same moment, Luck and Klaus shouted, **"Compound Magic: Thunder Arrow Redux!"** The lightning magic combined with the wind magic, being complementary magics, hit the Heart Kingdom's rogue wizard with a large KABOOM.

Noelle used her water magic to catch the wizard before he fell to the ground and Vanessa used her strings to tie the unconscious fellow up.

"He's not dead, right," asked Noelle, warily, kicking the man in the shin for good measure.

Yuno floated to the ground and checked the pulse. "He'll live. Unfortunately. Let's get him to interrogation."

"Captain, are you alright," asked Klaus, concerned. "You got hit a few times with this man's magic."

Yuno shook his head. "I'm fine. Nothing happened."

"If you're sure, let's go then."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**Still Remembrance Day**

Asta sat as quiet as possible, very uncomfortable with the situation. His anti-magic swords could not dispel the victims of the coughing up flower petals thing, so he was sitting uselessly next to his poor senpai, Finral, hacking up cherry blossom petals. Asta hated to be idle, especially when his friends, fellow Magic Knights, and the civilian bystanders were suffering.

"Don't make that face, Asta. _Cough_ I'm sure that Noelle, Luck and Vanessa got the guy and he'll reverse it," said Finral, trying to comfort Asta. Finral doubled over in pain as more cherry blossom petals came spilling out of his mouth.

Finral was taking this surprisingly well, Asta thought to himself, at least. The worry gnawed in Asta's stomach as he surveyed the room. Captain Mereoleona was arguing with Dr. Owen, as she was quite annoyed, not even pausing as red camellia petals fell from her mouth. She had her youngest brother and Asta's rival, Leopold, who was suffering as well, right next to her.

Leopold looked pale as the petals that fell from his month were covered in blood and larger than Asta had seen previously. Fuegoleon was hovering, trying to calm both of his siblings, to no avail.

Across the room, Nozel Silva was silently suffering, with Nebra and Solid sitting by his bedside. The Silver Eagles' Captain was quiet the entire time, which was strange for him, as he never minded speaking his mind. Next to him was Kirsch Vermillion, the vice-captain of the Coral Peacocks, being extra dramatic, as Mimosa sat there as the dutiful sister trying to calm him down and ease his pain.

"Sol, I'm fine, for the last time. _Cough_ This is not the first curse I've suffered from_ cough_ _cough_ _cough_," said the irritated voice of Charlotte, as Sol got the in the way but tried her best to comfort the Blue Rose Knight Captain. Blue Rose petals fell from her lips and it had nothing to do with her magic. "Dr. Owen, _cough_ perhaps we should call my _cough_ Aunt Ruth?"

Dr. Owen had more grey hair than ever as civilians were just as moody and cranky as Captain Mereoleona. "Uh, God, I don't want to deal with her, but she is an expert in botanical curses."

"I can go get her," offered Asta, whomever this Aunt Ruth was, if she was an expert in something then maybe she would help more than Asta at the moment.

"I'll have Marx contact her. And, Your Highness, please stop crying over Lady Finesse, she's not dying," said Dr. Owen, as the King of Clover was crying over Lady Finesse, as if she was dead already. The daisy and blood covered royal woman was pale but took everything happening to her in stride.

"At least _cough_ Captain Dorothy is sleeping through this whole _cough_ thing," said Finral.

Asta took a look at the Captain of the Coral Peacocks, Dorothy Unsworth, who remained sleeping, but had pink rose buds falling from her mouth every time she coughed.

The Queen of Hearts was in the bed next to Finral and she tried to sit up. Asta moved around and got her bucket, so she could spit out the black rose petals. "Thank you, _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ Captain Asta. I'm terribly sorry _cough_ for _cough_ all the trouble. I think _cough_ I know who caused this. _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ We may have a _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ bigger problem on our hands."

"Queen Ophelia, what do you mean," asked Asta, eyes narrowed.

"This is definitely a _cough_ curse, but a particular kind _cough_ _cough_ which is why your anti-magic swords can't do anything _cough_ _cough_."

Dr. Owen came over, "Don't worry, we'll figure it out. I'm going to get all the people I can that I know are experts to help. I need to you to relax."

Queen Ophelia shook her head, miserably and Asta felt an uncomfortable amount of sympathy for her. "Don't understand. _Cough_ _cough_" She collapsed into a coughing fit, blood and flowers falling from her mouth.

"Asta, go get Marx, as quickly as a possible, there's people we have to call."

Asta nodded and ran out of the room like a bat out of hell. He had to find Marx, who was most likely in the Wizard King's office doing paperwork. He hoped that Yuno and the rest were all alright and found the jerk that did this, otherwise Asta was going to go out there and help.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Interrogation Room**  
**A Few Hours Later, Still Remembrance Day**

Yuno exited the interrogation room, followed by Asta. "Well, at least, we have some idea what to do."

"I'm still confused," said Asta, admittedly. Marx used his magic to get all the important information out of the rogue Heart Kingdom wizard.

"Well, once we give the information to Dr. Owen, it'll be explained the victims again. You know that you need things explained more than once to really get it, if it has to do with complicated magic," said Yuno, not in a mean way. Asta had always had the disadvantage of not having magic, so when people talked magical theory or things related to it, Asta had a hard time grasping the subject. But he learned eventually. Yuno may have called Asta an idiot sometimes, but Asta was far from being stupid.

"Yeah, I'm just worried. I want everyone to get better," said Asta, taking longer strides to keep up with Yuno as they walked upstairs to the infirmary. "There was so much blood, Yuno."

Yuno shot a worried look at Asta. "I thought it was just flowers after the initial attack?"

Asta had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Yeah, I mean mostly petals, sometimes flower buds, but the blood…"

Yuno didn't like the sound of that at all.

"I mean, most of the Magic Knights are holding up well, but the civilians, Lady Finesse, the Queen of Hearts are looking rather rough," said Asta. "Though, the Queen of Hearts was the first victim, so she's had it longer."

"We had better hurry," said Yuno. The two childhood friends and rivals quickened their pace to get to the infirmary quicker with the information that scribe wizards dictated for the doctor. Then they just started running.

Yuno entered the infirmary before Asta, and it was bedlam.

There was no way to describe how chaotic and packed the infirmary was as Yuno and Asta stood side-by-side watching _everything_ unfold.

"MOTHER, UNHAND ME!" Mereoleona Vermillion, the Captain of the Crimson Lions, the former Captain of the Royal Knights, and the most badass, fearsome wizard in the kingdom, was being hugged by a woman half her height, as Leopold resigned himself to being in the clutches of the woman. The woman was apparently their mother, despite having blonde hair. She may have been smaller than her children but she was able to hold both Mereoleona and Leopold.

"NOZEL, WHY DIDN'T YOU CALL ME RIGHT AWAY?!" Nozel was pale as similar looking man cried about being a bad father and why do his children never need him. Nebra, Solid and Noelle were just as disturbed as Nozel.

"KIRSCH, MY DARLING BABY BOY, DO NOT FOLLOW THE WHITE LIGHT!" Mimosa had her hands in his face, shaking her head, embarrassed beyond belief, as Kirsch's older body double cried together with Kirsch.

Similarly, there were other people that Yuno had never seen before in the room. It looked like even Finral's father and step-mother showed up, though the two Vaude adults were getting protective death glares courtesy of Vanessa.

But, to Yuno's irritation, his vice-captain did not show up for his brother and Langris will be spoken to by Yuno. Finral was in the hospital and Langris was his brother. He honestly thought things were better between them these days. Well, Langris stopped trying to murder the other spatial magic user.

"What the hell," Asta muttered, looking up at Yuno with curious eyes. There was just so many people in the room.

Yuno shrugged, just as baffled as Asta. Dr. Owen was sitting in a chair, glasses off of his face, and rubbing his eyes. The healing wizard was tired and so done.

"I need a drink," said the doctor, solemnly looking at the room. "Ah, Captain Yuno, Captain Asta, thank God you're here. Got the info?"

"Uh, yeah," said Asta.

Yuno pulled out the papers that the scribes gave him and handed it to Dr. Owen, but before the doctor could even look at the papers, they were snatched out of his hands. Asta and Yuno were shoved to the side. To be fair they were standing in the doorway of the infirmary, but the 60-something-year-old grey haired woman was in the room, with a deep scowl on her face.

"I see nothing got done, Owen," said the woman, with a huff. "Where is that Wizard King of ours?"

"I'm right here, Lady Ruth," said Fuegoleon, entering the room. "Ah, Yuno, Asta, thanks for the hard work." With a glance into the room, Yuno saw the look pass over Fuegoleon's face. "Everyone let's settle down. There are the ill in the room." Most listened to the current Wizard King's words, except well, the Wizard King's mother.

"Fuego, why didn't you call me right away," demanded the small mother of the fire Vermillion siblings, still hugging two of her children.

"Mother, you're suffocating Leo," said Fuego, with the sigh of a long suffering son. "Yuno, Asta, I know that you have not be introduced to many of the visitors here." With a smile at Yuno and Asta, "Leo, Mereoleona and my mother, Lady Solace Vermillion, a healer wizard. And this is Lady Ruth Roselei, the head of the Roselei house and the former Captain of the Blue Rose Knight squad."

Lady Solace released poor Leopold and Mereoleona to stand up and straightened her robes. She had a warm smile on her face as she approached Yuno and Asta. "Of course, my children speak highly of you two. It's very nice to meet you both."

"It's nice to meet you too, Lady Solace," said Asta, as politely as possible.

Yuno was jolted to respond as Asta elbowed him in the side. Asta always had to remind Yuno to be polite to important people. "Right, nice to meet you."

"Wonderful, now, I'm sure that Lady Ruth will come up with a great idea to get everyone back into tip-top shape," said Lady Solace.

Lady Ruth was already in the middle of the reading the papers and she just waved her head, in a minor acknowledgement. "Not likely, from what I know of this particular kind of curse."

"Auntie, please be more optimistic," said Captain Charlotte, from her bed.

Lady Ruth snorted. "I'm surprised by silly sister and her useless husband aren't here fussing over you, Charlotte, my dear."

"Mother and Father are on holiday," said Charlotte, in a tone that stated that she had rather not speak about the matter in front of prying ears. "What do you know?"

"Is there something that we can do," asked Asta, getting the nervous bounce in his step when he's been idle for too long.

"Everyone find a seat, this is a long story," said Lady Ruth, with a huff. "Solace, do use your soothing healing abilities to ease the victims pain. You too, Owen."

Asta went over to sit with Finral and Vanessa, while awkwardly followed Asta over to his two teammates, because other than Mimosa who was by her parents and brother, Yuno didn't know anyone else that well. Lady Solace and Dr. Owen used their grimoires and spells and even Yuno felt at ease with the healing magic in the air.

"Okay, good," said Lady Ruth, tying her graying black hair up in a bun. "What this curse is called the Flower Unrequited Love Curse, or in the land in the East, where Yami Sukehiro comes from, it's called Hanahaki. There's two or three versions of the curse. I think for everyone in this room we are looking at one particular version."

"Great, do you know what to do to fix it," interrupted Asta.

"Sort of," said Lady Ruth. "All versions of the curse can be fatal as blood loss and suffocation do, that much is certain, however, it looks like everyone in the infirmary had been hit with the simple, quick version. The effects of the curse were immediate and everyone will only be spitting up petals or flower buds and not whole flowers. There are two sure-fire cures, which is easier said than done."

"What can we do," asked Mereoleona, miserably.

"Either confess to whom you harbor feelings for to either gain acceptance or rejection. Reciprocated feelings have an immediate cure. Once you're rejected, you'll cycle through the five stages of grief and eventually accept that the love wasn't meant to be. It's sucks but that's it."

"Sonovabitch," Mereoleona and several others in the room cursed.

"Mereoleona, language!"

"Yes, Mother."

"Also, the curse can not only affect people suffering from romantic unrequited love, but also unrequited platonic or unrequited familial love as well," finished Lady Ruth, eyes scanning the room. "We healers can ease the pain until then. But it's best if everyone confesses sooner rather than later, otherwise you will all die of blood loss and suffocation."

"Lady Ruth, please don't put it that way," pleaded Fuegoleon.

"I'm not gonna sugarcoat it for these babies," said Lady Ruth, sternly. Softening a fraction, "However, I will look into other possible cures. No promises though."

"It's all we can ask," said Fuegoleon. "Alright, everyone let's make sure we make things as comfortable as possible for the people under the curse. Asta, Yuno, I'm calling a Captain meeting with the remaining captains, first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes sir!"

**Gardenia **  
_(Meaning) secret love_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Outside the Infirmary**  
**Middle of the Night, End of the Remembrance Day**

Nozel Silva walked the halls outside the infirmary with his best friend and rival Fuegoleon. They were second cousins and sometimes, they didn't get along with the different ways of doing things like leading, like taking care of siblings and so forth, but Nozel was glad that he was able to have someone like Fuegoleon be his family, friend and rival.

"You've been uncharacteristically quiet since this morning," said Fuegoleon, voice telling Nozel that Fuegoleon was being cautious.

Nozel had hated being cooped up along with everyone else. While he's been working on being a better person and not being an elitist, there was only so much people-in-general stuff he could reasonably take in one day. He hated Festivals for that very reason. "I'm fine, Fuego."

Of course, he had a coughing fit as soon as he said that.

"Fine, right, and this has nothing to do with that person…"

"Shut up, you _promised_ _**never**_ to reference _that person_ every again in my presence," snapped Nozel, nearly growling the sentence out but his throat was too sore at the moment to sound intimidating. Nozel had another coughing fit.

Fuegoleon's look was undisturbed by the outburst and there was a knowing look on his best friend's face.

Nozel hated his face sometimes.

"I didn't mean to _cough_ _cough_ snap at you. Today's been _cough_ extremely stressful," said Nozel, sighing, rubbing his throat. If he never saw another flower again, it would be too soon.

"I know, Nozel," said Fuegoleon, arms crossed. "Do you want me to tell you where that person is?"

Nozel shook his head.

"No. _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_"

"It's been years, Nozel. You are a grown man and you can talk to them."

Nozel sighed. "Exactly. It's been years. Things from back then were harder than now. If we grew up now where things have been easier between the classes, it would have been better. I have no right to intervene in their life after all this time, not after what happened, Fuego. I just can't. It wouldn't be fair to myself or to them."

Fuegoleon was quiet.

Years ago, Nozel had been a stupid teenager. Years ago, Nozel's stony heart was cracked for one person. And that person was a commoner, a magic knight yes, but still a commoner. Nozel's grandfather, who had long since passed, found out that Nozel had been merely speaking with that someone and threatened to be cut out of the family tree. Nozel's brow-beaten, heartbroken father had been no help. At the time, there was no way that he would risk his title and place in the extended Royal Family, but not for the reason anyone else other than Fuegoleon would suspect.

Nozel could not leave his siblings. They needed him. They had no mother and their father was a good man, but unable to function after the death of Acier Silva. Nozel was the oldest. He promised his mother, he promised that he would look after them.

Granted, he should have did a better job taking care of Noelle, should have been a better big brother, be that someone that helped rather than hurt, but she didn't need him anymore. She had the Black Bulls, much to Nozel's mild irritation. However, Nebra and Solid still needed him.

Nozel was just piecing together his siblings, trying to make them a proper family without the tenseness and drama.

"What's in the past is in the past. I may have always loved that one, but I cannot leave my siblings. I love them more," said Nozel, nodding.

Fuegoleon smiled. "You stopped coughing."

Holding his throat, he didn't feel anything. "So it seems I have."

Nozel smiled for the first time in a long time. He was cured.

**Red Camellia **  
_(Meaning) You're a flame in my heart_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Inside the Infirmary**  
**Middle of the Night, End of the Remembrance Day**

Mereoleona Vermillion, the Flame Queen, the Captain of the Crimson Lions, was not very happy at the moment. She had her baby brother curled into her side, as he fitfully slept thanks to some of the doctor's sleeping tonic. Mereoleona was more worried about him than herself. Some coughing and bloody flowers was not going to make her die.

Normally she was not super affectionate with either of her younger brothers, but Leopold always enjoyed calmer moments when they weren't doing intense death training. She ran her hands through his messy head of vermillion hair and sighed.

"Not sleeping," whispered her mother, Solace, as she moved to sit on the chair that Fuego placed there earlier. "Sweetheart, why didn't you ever tell me there was someone?"

Mereoleona looked at her soft, kind, sweet mother who always taught Mereoleona and her brothers to always judge people not based on anything but their character. Her mother was soft in ways that Mereoleona wasn't, but the best thing about her mother was that she was not like other mothers. Solace Vermillion never cared one way or another who her children loved, as so long as they were happy.

While her father hadn't been completely thrilled at the prospect of his only daughter living in the Grand Magic Zones to train, but Solace went out to buy supplies with Mereoleona the very day that she announced her decision, and even made Mereoleona a first aid kit. It was the kind of person that Solace Vermillion was and Mereoleona loved her mother for it.

It was just that her mother wanted to talk feelings sometimes and Mereoleona wasn't super comfortable with it especially as she got older and tougher. She had an image to maintain as an unrelenting badass, after all.

"It would_ cough_ _cough_ _cough_ have been hard," replied Mereoleona, softly as not to wake up anyone else.

Solace hummed. "Love is hard, my sweetheart."

Mereoleona snorted. "I was a young _cough_ _cough_ fool then, Mother, nothing more."

"If you say."

Mereoleona made a face. She knew it, she knew that her mother was doing it on purpose to get her to talk. "It was Zacharias."

That startled her mother for once. "Oh, sweetheart…"

"No. _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ none of that, Mother," said Mereoleona, sternly. "No pity, _cough_ _cough_ you know I hate that."

Sadly shaking her head, Mereoleona's mother sighed. "I should have guessed it was him. He had been the only one not intimidated by you. You two had spent a lot of time together back then."

"He was _cough_ four years older than me, but he _cough_ never thought me any less than him because I was a _cough_ _cough_ girl," said Mereoleona, fondly remembering Zacharias Kira Clover, the rightful King of Clover. He was the current fool of a king's older brother, the first son and first legitimate child of Augustus Kira Clover XII. Crown Prince Zacharias Kira Clover had been beloved by many. He was fair, just, he even joined the Crimson Lions as a Magic Knight, being the first royal ever to enter the Magic Knight Exams like the nobles and the commoners.

"His death was so sad, sweetie, I know," said Solace, taking Mereoleona's hand in both of hers in a soothing motherly manner.

Mereoleona almost laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Zacharias wasn't dead.

He asked her to help him become free, so she helped fake his disappearance and then death. She couldn't say no. Of course, she couldn't when she had been so enamored with him. Stupid feelings gave way the Clover Kingdom having an idiot on the throne.

She got a letter from him once after he left.

He sounded happy in the letter. What more could she ask? Still, she should have dealt with her long buried romantic feelings ages ago because now, she was stuck in bed, coughing up red camellias laced with her blood.

As her mother attempted to soothe her when Mereoleona was actually quite okay, Mereoleona knew in her heart-of-hearts that she didn't stand a chance with someone like Zacharias. He needed a soft, kind woman, not a demonic incarnate hellspawn woman like her.

And she was strangely okay with that. Acier always told Mereoleona that she was too much woman for some people. Mereoleona had to agree with her old mentor.

Because her parents loved her for who she was; her brothers admired and loved her for who she was and she had her little minions that she kidnapped on occasion to bring into brutal training (Asta, Yuno, Noelle, Zora, occasionally Finral, Mimosa, and a few others), she didn't really ache to have a special someone like others. She was happy.

"Sweetheart," said Solace, in awe.

"What?"

"You stopped coughing."

Mereoleona startled for a moment.

"So I did."

**Primrose **  
_(Meaning) innocence of young love_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**Middle of the Night, Remembrance Day Over**

Yuno once again was unable to fall asleep. Normally after a long day, he was out like a light, but that night, he just couldn't get comfortable.

Maybe was it because Asta was on his mind again. But Asta was always on Yuno's mind even when he didn't want it to be. Asta was his everything and that was the problem. Asta had been quiet for his standards (as he had sometimes a hard time hearing, not that Asta would admit it, so he was loud so he could hear himself speak) in the infirmary that afternoon, as they had met the parents of some of their friends. It worried Yuno. Quiet Asta was not something he liked.

It was strange to be reminded that Mimosa, Noelle, and even Mereoleona, Leopold, and Fuegoleon had parents who were still alive. Naturally, Yuno never wondered about his parents because he knew that they were either dead or didn't want him. He didn't need them. He had Asta, Sister Lily, Father, and the other kids at the orphanage. He had his friends and rivals in the Magic Knights Squads.

But Yuno knew that Asta sometimes wondered about his own parents and why he was left. He always tried to tell Asta that there was too much down that path, to not do it, but for an orphan, there was nagging thing in the back of both of their heads.

_Why weren't they good enough?_

Yuno should talk to Asta tomorrow after the meeting.

The meeting was first thing in the morning, which meant for Fuegoleon one hour after sunrise. Yuno had to get some sleep, otherwise he'd be dead on his feet and lose focus in the meeting, which was not allowed in Fuegoleon-lead meetings.

Yuno coughed. He rubbed throat and felt something catch in it. He heaved. Pounding a fist on his chest to help whatever was in there out, he threw his blanket and duvet off and grabbed his garbage basket.

A wet slimy soft thing came out. He looked down to the basket and in the pale moonlight, there was several flower petals, the yellow ones covered with traces of blood.

Yuno almost didn't believe it.

He had the curse.

Asta cannot ever know.

_Ch. End_


	2. Chapter 2

SPOILERS! SPOILERS!

Just a reminder about SPOILERS for the manga. While I won't be following the plot of BC post-chapter 215 because shit's going crazy in Black Clover right now, I will pull some concepts from future chapters (basically world-building but no new BC characters).

Warnings for this chapter:  
There is a lot of coughing, mentions of death and suffocation, blood and almost vomiting.

* * *

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**Captains' Meeting Room**  
**2nd Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Yuno was late for the meeting, but so was Fuegoleon.

It was unusual for Fuegoleon to be late for a meeting, but understandable given the situation. But Yuno was never late for anything, ever, Asta knew this as a fact. Yuno did not like to be late for anything.

As Asta waited with the other captains at the table for the Wizard King and the Golden Dawn Captain, Asta was glad to see Nozel back in action as the Silver Eagles' Captain. Noelle had been terribly worried about her oldest brother. Nozel was still paler than normal, but he wasn't coughing up any bloody petals anymore. He was back to being a stoic paragon of royalty, too.

To Asta's dismay, because meetings went better with her there, Captain Mereoleona wasn't there, despite being told that she was cured just like Nozel. Instead, it was the vice-captain Randall was sitting in her seat, for in the event that a captain was unable to perform his or her duties, the vice-captain would step in to do it. Asta tried not to think about Leo, who was still stuck in bed and suffering. Asta had gone to visit Leopold, Finral and the others earlier that morning. It sucked so much that his anti-magic swords weren't able to help.

Since both Dorothy and Kirsch were out with the curse, one of the higher ranking magic knights of the Coral Peacocks who introduced himself as Levi Roe was there instead. He had wild red hair, freckles scattered across his face, and bright green eyes. Levi was deep in conversation with Rill, although it looked like Levi was just being polite, listening to Rill talk.

Charlotte's younger sister, the Vice-Captain of the Blue Rose Knights Lerola Roselei was sitting in Charlotte's usual seat, having a glaring contest with Captain Yami. It was rather unsettling.

Thankfully, Jack and Kaiser were acting normal, being both weird (Jack) and chill (Kaiser).

Asta grumbled as Yuno finally arrived. Frowning, Asta took in the sight of his tall, lanky childhood friend and rival and knew something immediately was wrong with him. Yuno had rings under his eyes and he was pale. He didn't even have Bell hanging on his shoulder, chattering his ear off like usual.

Before Asta could comment and inquire about Yuno's health, Fuegoleon entered the room, as regal and composed as it were, despite his younger brother being stuck in the infirmary and his oldest sister missing-in-action.

"Sorry I'm late everyone, I got held up with Lady Ruth and Mother with their research into the curse," said Fuegoleon. "As you may see, Nozel and Mereoleona have been cured of the curse. Nozel, good to have to you back."

"Thank you, Fuegoleon," said Nozel, nodding. "Where's Mereoleona?"

"Right, so, Mereoleona left early this morning. She's going on a journey of sorts, but she'll back soon," replied Fuegoleon. Mereoleona would do what she wanted and no one would stop her. Everyone knew this fact. "Naturally, Randall will be filling in for Mereoleona as the temporary Captain of the Crimson Lions. Randall, I'll check up on you all from time to time, but I know you've done this before."

"Of course, sir, it's an honor to hold the fort while Captain Mereoleona is on her journey," said Randall, respectfully.

Asta was glad to hear that Captain Mereoleona was just off doing her own thing like she always does and not suffering or in trouble (not that she would need anyone's help).

"Asta," said Fuegoleon, "I want you to assist the Coral Peacocks since both their captain and vice-captain are out of commission for the time being. Levi, here, will help you."

Asta felt happy that he was given such a big responsibility. Of course being the Captain of the Royal Knights was an honor but they only did big missions (like protecting visiting royalty or destroying a terrorist group). "Yes, sir!"

"I know you will do well, Asta," said Fuegoleon, nodding.

Grinning, Asta said, "Thank you, sir."

"Vice-Captain Lerola, if you need anything, check with Rill or Kaiser, alright," said Fuegoleon, addressing the Blue Rose Magic Knight. Lerola nodded, solemnly. "Now with that all out of the way, let's talk about the enemy, what happened yesterday and what we need to do going forward. Yuno, please summarize what you learned yesterday."

Yuno nodded and spoke. Asta wondered if Yuno having to speak in front of everyone made him nervous, since Yuno was not someone who spoke much. "The enemy is a former Heart Kingdom assassin. He is nameless, as all the assassins in the Heart Kingdom. His magic is flower curses, a hyper-specific magic. He has a grudge against the Queen of Hearts for she discovered that he was basically murdering people for no reason with his favorite curse, the Flower Unrequited Love Curse. She had no choice but to strip him of his job and exile him. This happened five years ago. He's been nursing this grudge and planning for years. Finally he had his shot when the Queen of Hearts left the boundaries of the powerful Heart Kingdom border to visit Clover."

"The Heart Kingdom," interrupted Nozel, "has some of the strongest natural magic barriers that once you leave, unless you have a magic mark of the Heart Kingdom citizen, you cannot enter the realm. It's the ultimate security. This assassin couldn't get back in to handle his revenge it seemed."

"Yeah, that makes sense," said Asta, "but how did he get through our security?"

"That's a damn good question," said Kaiser, arms crossed.

"He was already here well before the event," said Fuegoleon, with a sigh. "The enemy was able to mask his magic, integrate quietly into Capital City as a merchant. We sent an investigation squad to his home and business. This was a pre-meditated, long plan."

"Well, what can we do about it now," asked Vice-Captain Lerola, arms crossed, a scowl on her face, looking like a very unruffled yet messy, younger version of Captain Charlotte at that moment. "We already do searches of every person at every realm entrance and the entrance to Capital City. It's not like if we order a special provision for proper identification of citizenship would work, because the King would make it cost money. Those in the Forsaken Realm wouldn't be able to get them as easily, you know."

Asta's opinion of Lerola Roselei went up, despite having never met her once before. Perhaps, the lessons of Julius and Fuegoleon were getting through to some of the nobles and royals. And maybe even Asta and Yuno's actions over the years help sway opinion about lower-born people.

"And there are a lot of orphans who don't always have proper paperwork to begin with, orphanages at the churches only have so many resources," added Levi Roe. "But we do have to do something. We can't continue to have foreign witches and wizards sneaking into our Kingdom and causing chaos."

"It is a lot to think about," said Fuegoleon. "I want everyone to think about this and come up with solutions. We'll have another captains' meeting in two days, same time, same place. Hopefully, everyone will be better by then. Now I have a meeting with the Magic Parliament and the King, so wish me luck."

"Good luck, sir," said Asta, wincing at the memory of the Magic Parliament. It was not a pleasant time, not at all. He didn't like any one of them in the least.

Everyone else chorused, "Good luck, sir."

"Excellent, everyone dismissed," said Fuegoleon, before speeding off to a horrendous-sounding meeting.

Asta knew that he needed to go with the Coral Peacock Magic Knight to the headquarters to help, but Asta needed to check on Yuno, first and foremost. He knew that Mimosa and Klaus look after Yuno, but Yuno did not like to seem weak in front of anyone. Yuno easily was able to hide any problems from mostly everyone. "Hey, Levi, give me like ten minutes, and then we'll head out together, alright?"

"Sure thing, Captain Asta." Levi left the room.

While the other captains and temporary captains filed out of the room with plenty of work to be done, Asta caught Yuno by the arm. It was just Asta and Yuno in the Captains' Meeting Room. "Are you feeling alright?"

Before Yuno could get out annoyed "I'm fine," Asta pulled Yuno to his level and put the back of his hand against Yuno's forehead, checking for a fever, like Sister Lily used to do when they were younger.

"Asta, I'm alright, stop," said Yuno, face flushing red. He hissed. "I'm not a kid."

Asta glared. "No fever, but you look like you didn't sleep."

"I swear I'm good, Asta. Don't you have work to do?"

"You had better not be lying to me, Yuno," said Asta, eyes narrowed, glaring at his rival. Before Asta could pester Yuno so more, a familiar hand grabbed Asta by the head and lifted him up off the ground.

"Captain Yami!"

"Kid, I got to talk to you before you run off to run Dotty's squad, now."

Yuno looked relieved and Asta was not going let this go. Something was wrong with Yuno, Asta knew it in his gut.

But Captain Yami was demanding Asta's attention, so Yuno would have to wait.

**Edge of the Clover Kingdom**  
**Grand Magic Zone Gravito Rock Zone, Neutral Territory**  
**2nd Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

Mereoleona Vermillion needed some quiet time after the events of the yesterday. She needed some intense training by herself without anyone hovering. Thankfully, Fuegoleon was understanding and let her go without much fuss with the promise from her that she wouldn't be too long. Before she left, she visited Leopold in the infirmary. He looked absolutely miserable, but he was a good, understanding little brother too. Mereoleona lucked out in the little brother department, not that she would admit it to them.

She was not the type to sit around and do nothing. There was nothing in her abilities as a warrior to help with the sick and injured.

The Grand Magic Zone Gravito Rock Zone was where the Eye of the Midnight Sun hid themselves. The last time she was there was three years ago when she took the newly formed Royal Knights to take down the group. It hadn't gone well for the Clover Kingdom at first. In all honesty, it was one of the toughest battles she ever fought. The fallout was rough but everyone managed to survive.

"Damnit," muttered Mereoleona to only herself and maybe God. She had excess energy from her worry about Leo.

It was nightfall, and she finally reached the remains of the Eye of the Midnight Sun's old headquarters. Instead of stopping, she kept walking right by the ruins. She needed to just keep going, despite not having a destination in mind.

"Well, the fighting pits of the Spade Kingdom might be fun this time of year," mused Mereoleona.

Out of nowhere, she sensed something off, multiple types of mana in the area nearby. Thankfully, her training in these Grand Magic Zones all these years allowed her to sense others in the area. A newbie wouldn't be able to sense anything, but she was Mereoleona Vermillion, one of the most powerful Clover Kingdom wizards, a Royal and a Magic Knight Captain. She smirked, as she met a sharp right towards the magic. Were people hunting around here? It was rather dangerous for them to do so. Or perhaps there were enemies from the other kingdoms or witches from the Witches' Forest were searching the remaining dungeons for anything of value?

Mereoleona was itching for a fight, after all, so there was no time to waste.

**Daisy **  
_(Meaning) loyal love_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Inside the Infirmary**  
**3rd Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Finesse Calmreich was beyond glad that there was some quiet in the infirmary during the day. She envied Lady Mereoleona and Lord Nozel, who were able to somehow find the secret to overcoming unrequited love. What she would give to be back at home among her gardens and library, but she was unable to do so as she ungracefully had a constant flow of daisy petals falling from her lips.

The quiet helped Finesse keep herself calm; she wasn't much suited for chaos that first day in the infirmary brought in with the extended families, parents, and squadmates. Whenever Finesse had a health scare, she was always given privacy, but due to the nature of the curse, the doctors wanted all the curse victims in one place. She understood the necessity of situation, but the amount of people coming in and out was startling.

Captain Charlotte Roselei was either attended by her Aunt Ruth or a member of the Blue Rose Magic Knights squad. (No parents in sight). Leopold Vermillion had the constant visitors of his brother Fuegoleon, his parents Solace and Aldebrand, any of his squadmates, friends from other squads like the short, loud blond boy called Asta, his cousin Mimosa, and his second cousins, the Silva siblings. Captain Dorothy Unsworth was sleeping most of the time, but Coral Peacock squad members visited their captain and their vice-captain.

Speaking of Kirsch Vermillion, he also had his sister Mimosa and his father Sazerac there. Kirsch and Mimosa's mother Nickole was on a scholarly sabbatical trip and got caught up in a storm in the south. Kirsch was the worst person to be in a sick bed, even Finesse with her mild-manners wanted to wring the dramatic man's neck in the last three days.

The poor Queen of Hearts had it the worst, barely able to sit up or interact with anyone. Her visitors were her guards only, though Fuegoleon spoke to her, as did the Black Bulls that visited Finral.

Her lungs lurched at the reminder of Finral Roulacase, causing the slow stream of daisy petals increase. In pain, she reached for the bucket to stick under her face. Undignified and embarrassing, Finesse just wished she didn't have to be on the other side of the room in full-view of the person that she knew full well was why she had the curse in the first place.

"Please stop looking _cough_ _cough_ so morose, Lady Finesse," commented Kirsch from the bed next to hers. "It's not all bad. _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ At least I'm finally getting my vacation."

Finesse sighed. "Perhaps it is not so bad, Lord Kirsch, _cough_ _cough_ however, I do not work as hard as the Magic Knights here, _cough_ _cough_ and therefore, I don't need the rest. _Cough_ _cough_"

Kirsch gave her a half-smirk. "At least, your parents and the King stopped crying _cough_ _cough_ over you like you were dying. My father _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ is still dramatic about it."

"But Lady Mimosa can get him to be silent _cough_ _cough_ and you're no better than him when he's here, _cough_ _cough_ Lord Kirsch," said Finesse, without missing a beat. Her vision moved over once again to Finral as his short teammate Charmy tried to get him to eat some soup, while Vanessa messed with Finral's hair. The Black Bulls squad really did love Finral. He was never alone. If it wasn't Vanessa, the beautiful witch, or Noelle Silva, or the anti-magic boy, there was a guy with a Mohawk, a little scary blonde boy, the creepy guy that always whispered, a nervous girl with transformation magic, a man who was way too obsessed with his little sister, or the scary, intimidating Captain of the Black Bulls at Finral's side.

"Touché, Lady Finesse," replied Kirsch. Kirsch had a momentary coughing fit that lasted a few minutes. She dared not look at him with pity. "At least you talk to me, _cough_ I swore that cousin of mine, Nozel, would have found a way to murder me with his eyes. _Cough_"

"Hmm," said Finesse, agreeing. Lord Nozel's glares were practically cutting to one's soul.

"I am glad _cough_ that your folks _cough_ decided not to come again," said Kirsch, absentmindedly trying to change the subject, "because they _cough_ would have eventually ran into that ragamuffin _cough_ _cough_ Asta and gotten an earful about respect."

Finesse winced. Her parents' view of commoners hadn't changed despite the events of the past three years, while it was slow going for the majority of nobles and royals, the majority of the Magic Knights have attempted to move past class differences to work to make things better for everybody. Her father was one comment away from getting thrown out the window by the combined magic of Kirsch and Mimosa Vermillion yesterday.

"People don't _cough_ change so fast," said Finesse, knowing that it was not a good defense, if one at all.

"_Cough_ _cough_ Suppose that's true for those that can't see past their own world," said Kirsch. "If I can be more open-minded about commoners in the Magic Knight squads, _cough_ _cough_ after having fought alongside many of them on the battlefields against elves and demons, _cough_ the others can make the effort."

Finesse said nothing. "I agree. _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ You are unexpectedly kind-hearted, Kirsch."

"Well, not-so-much, _cough_ not really," he replied. Then in a whisper, "You should go over and talk to him, _cough_ Lady Finesse."

Startled, she looked over at Kirsch Vermillion nonchalantly sitting on the bed next to hers in the infirmary of the Magic Knight Headquarters, and felt the panic and pain bubble up inside. How did he know? Did _he_ know? Who else knew? Was she that obvious? Holding her chest, unhelpfully, she coughed heavily and heaved. Her heart was beating out of control.

Eyes finding Finral again, she wanted to cry out of pure frustration. Why did she even think she was good enough to be in love with such a kind-hearted soul like Finral when she was a useless, royal, sick woman who couldn't take care of herself?

She coughed daisy petal after daisy petal out, rapidly in succession, trying to steady herself in the bed with her weak arms.

In one wrong moment, Finesse fell out of bed on the floor, getting everyone's attention. She wanted to fall into a hole and never be seen again. This was so devastatingly embarrassing.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Inside the Infirmary**  
**3rd Day of the Curse**  
**The Very Moment that Finesse Fell Out of Bed**

Finral was across the room in an instant that he saw Finesse have trouble, despite Vanessa and Charmy yelling at him to get back in bed, despite the pain in his lungs. His own curse left cherry blossoms in his wake, as he reached Finesse, who had fell to the floor in a heap. Kirsch moved out of bed, too, to help Finral get Finesse back into bed.

Lady Solace rushed over from her fussing over Leo to use her soothing magic on Finesse. Being a fine healer, she also used her magic on Kirsch and Finral, who were not supposed to overexert themselves, especially as the days wore onward being affected by the curse. Finral's pain eased slightly.

"Back to bed, Kirsch, Finral," said Lady Solace. Kirsch immediately did what he was told, but Finral planted himself in the visitor's chair by Lady Finesse's bed. Finesse finally calmed down and the coughing eased, while her cheeks were stained red and not looking anyone in the eyes.

"I can sit _cough_ _cough_ up for a bit," said Finral.

Lady Solace gave him a look that reminded Finral that she was the mother of three ferocious wizards, but despite sweating bullets at invoking her ire, he stayed put in the seat. He was worried about Finesse, his little brother's fiancée.

"Very well, you have ten minutes," said Lady Solace, going back to her youngest child's side. "I'm sure your squadmates will force you back into bed at that time."

He could feel the calculating stare from Kirsch boring into the back of his head, but Finral was more concerned for Finesse. "Lady Finesse, would you like me to get Langris for you?"

She cutely startled. "What? _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ Why would you get Lord Langris…?"

Ignoring the snort of disbelief from Kirsch (this infirmary really needed some privacy), Finral gave her a funny look. "Um, _cough_ why wouldn't I?"

Finesse's face was flush from overexertion, embarrassment and a hint of anger. "It's not him, Finral." She was quite adamant.

His face turned red, apologetically he said, "Sorry for assuming." Unfortunately for his heart, hope bloomed in his chest. He had been in love with her for years, but he gave up before he had a chance. The love he held for Finesse didn't cause the curse to act up, so it meant that the cherry blossom petals were not for her.

Finral knew they were Langris, a familial unrequited love for a younger brother, he guessed it when he felt hurt that Langris hadn't visited him. And he thought they were, at least, on speaking terms and they didn't argue when they met on missions or meetings anymore.

Pouting, which was completely cute on Finesse's face, she looked rather cross. Then she in a high-pitched irritated tone, Finesse said, clear as day, "Why would it be him, when there was someone else the whole time, when it was you the whole time that I love, Finral, God!"

Finral froze. "EhHH? What?"

He blocked out the cooing from others in the room and the sass from Kirsch and focused on the earnest gaze of Finesse and her big purple eyes.

Finral smiled, brightly, while his felt his face warming.

"W-well, I l-love you, too!"

It didn't ease the ache in his chest, however.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Inside the Infirmary**  
**3rd Day of the Curse**  
**The Very Moment that Finral Finally Confessed his Feelings**

Vanessa Enoteca had to cover her mouth from laughing at the absurdity of the situation. It was absolutely delightful that Finral was finally getting some romantic love. She always knew that his flirtatious behaviors was just him looking for someone to love him, even if it never worked because Finral loved Finesse too much.

The black haired royal and Finral were both blushing, stuttering messes as they talked. Kirsch was laughing while coughing up his own set of flowers, but at least, Vanessa had the decency not to laugh outright. She was surely going to tease the hell out of Finral later.

She shook her head, amused.

Charmy looked happy. "His ten minutes are up."

"Aww, he looks so happy, right now, but I don't want to piss off Captain Mereoleona's momma," said Vanessa, grinning. She and Charmy went across the room. Charmy hopped onto Finral's back, while Vanessa dragged him up and away. "Back to bed, Finral. I'm sure Lady Finesse must get medically cleared."

Finral gave Vanessa a pleading look, but she would not be swayed.

"Once Lady Finesse is cleared, you two will have all the time to talk," said Vanessa, gently reminding him of his possible new relationship.

Finesse nodded, no longer coughing petals out of her lips now that her love was requited. "Yes, Finral, please go rest! I'll take care of you from now on."

Finral's face turned so red that Vanessa feared he would pass out.

Sighing, she got him back across the room and in bed, while Charmy went back to forcing him to eat something. Truly happy for Finral, who deserved all the happiness in the world, Vanessa was glad that the curse was slowing being undone. There were only nine people left affected—four civilians and five Magic Knights.

"You got yourself the love of your life, huh, Finral? How cute~!"

"Shut up, 'nessa," mumbled Finral, trying to hide his face in his hands.

"Oh, I'm going to recount in detail to everyone the confession scene," laughed Vanessa.

"Me too!"

"Ugh."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**4th Day of the Curse**

If Nozel was a different man, he would have been grumbling under his breath as he made his way through the Magic Knight Headquarters to the infirmary. He originally had been at the Silva Eagles Headquarters doling out missions and assignments to everyone in his squad and working on retched paperwork. He also had a meeting with Fuegoleon later to discuss Fuegoleon's meeting with the Magic Parliament and the King the previous day.

He was so busy, but even Nozel had to cave when his grandmother summoned him. His Silva grandmother was a fearsome woman, the heavy-handed, opinionated matriarch who took over from her deceased husband. She wanted a family dinner and it was Nozel's responsibility to make sure that his three younger siblings were there on the day she wanted. Solid and Nebra was easy enough as they were in his squad, though he knew Nebra had a mission so she would get out of it. However, he knew that Noelle would do everything in her power not to have to sit through the awkward, demeaning family dinner they were all about to endure.

Nozel was sure that his father would have an anxiety attack and leave the siblings to fend for themselves.

Noelle, like the rest of the Black Bulls, were cycling through turns helping out in the infirmary. Noelle having two family members and a squad-mate there, she would always want to help. His youngest sister had come a long, long way from the girl she used to be and he was very proud of her. It chaffed Nozel to know that Yami, of all people, provided a place where Noelle could thrive as a Magic Knight.

He entered the infirmary, spotting his aunt Nickole, who had arrived recently from her own mission, and uncle Sazerac sitting with Kirsch. Kirsch waved at Nozel, but Nozel was thoroughly annoyed with his cousin after talking too much while Nozel was stuck in the infirmary, so Kirsch got ignored. Leopold still had his mother at his side, and Nozel was happy to see Fuegoleon, Mereoleona and Leopold's father, the well-respected Grand Magic Knight, the Magma Wizard, Aldebrand, there too. Nozel was honestly a little envious of Fuegoleon with having such wonderful parents.

"Brother, what brings you here," asked Noelle, smiling, actually happy to see him. His sister was at the desk with Ruth Roselei, Dr. Owen and Fuegoleon with a bunch of books and scrolls out. His sister's teammate (Finral, was' it?) was attended by the Black Bulls witch and Lady Finesse.

Nozel was not one to mince his words. "Grandmother has requested we join her for a family supper tomorrow evening."

Noelle immediately shut down. "I see. I may have a mission to attend."

If it was at the request of any other elder of their family, Nozel would have let her get away with such a blatant lie. "Noelle, you know you cannot deny Grandmother."

Noelle pursed her lips and he knew that stubborn set in her jaw, but also knew that she knew that he was right. "Fine. I'll be there."

Nozel almost sighed in relief.

"Awww, Noelle, I wanted you to come with me into town tomorrow night," said the cheerful, mocking voice of Vanessa Enoteca, the Black Bulls witch. The pink-haired woman launched herself from where their cursed teammate was and attached herself to Noelle in a big bear hug. "No, I wanted to go shopping with you. Stupid family dinner." Enoteca wasn't addressing him, but Noelle.

Noelle looked a little confused, but didn't reject the hug from the older woman or deny the plans.

Nozel felt a spike of irritation in his chest. Almost on instinct, he glared. "It won't be a long event, Noelle. I'll come and pick you up."

"Of course, Brother," said Noelle, unruffled by the display of affection from her squad-mate.

"Hopefully, your squad-mate won't smother you before then," said Nozel, wondering where his brain-to-mouth filter was at the moment.

For a moment, the room was silent as Nozel had a stare-down with the pink-haired witch, who gave a glare as good as his. The moment passed when Aldebrand Vermillion came over to Nozel and clapped Nozel on the shoulder to get Nozel's attention.

"Nozel, my boy, I've been meaning to catch up with you, if you are finished speaking with Young Lady Noelle and Miss Enoteca," said Aldebrand, who was an older version of Fuegoleon. Or rather, Fuegoleon was a younger version of Aldebrand. Most of Fuegoleon's personality traits came from his warm-hearted father. Nozel nodded, and followed the older man out of the infirmary after giving Noelle a parting nod.

He wouldn't worry about Noelle's witchy teammate, not when he had to prepare himself for dealing with Grandmother.

**Purple Lilac **  
_(Meaning) first love_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Magic Knight Squad Headquarters**  
**4th Day of the Curse**  
**Captain of the Golden Dawn's Office**

"Yuno, are you paying attention," asked William Vangeance, in a concerned tone.

Yuno snapped out of his blank stare at the papers sent by the Wizard King about the new restrictions on travel that the Magic Parliament passed down. He was trying very hard to keep the flower spewing at a minimum. The flowers changed from yellow primroses (he looked up the names of the flowers that have been hindering his breathing) to purple lilacs. These were worse.

The purple lilacs started that morning after a very rough night of sleep. "Yes, I am. Continue."

The masked former Captain of the Golden Dawn William just stared at Yuno. "Patri, he's lying, don't you think?"

The elf, the former leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, Patri nodded. "Clearly."

Yuno glared at them both. William Vangeance and Patri had been on a modified house arrest, living in the Golden Dawn headquarters for the last 2 years. Of course, William stayed as the captain for another year after the war against the elves, as the Kingdom dealt with the fallout. They were his closest advisors, though Yuno tended to do what he wanted or took Mimosa or Klaus or even Langris' opinion into account. "Enough. I'm fine. Let's just continue to talk about the fools at the Magic Parliament."

Stifling the coughs had become more and more difficult.

Neither believed him, but William continued nonetheless, "Very well. Now, let's discuss the latest mission reports…"

"Of course," said Yuno. He ignored the pain in his chest. He felt the flowers coming up again, which was utterly ridiculous. He tried to swallow it, focusing more on not revealing that he was cursed. It wasn't that he didn't want to be cured but if Asta found out that he got himself cursed, Yuno would never hear the end of it. Asta was completely unbearable when Yuno got sick. For their whole lives, it was that way, especially when Yuno had been much younger and much more prone to bouts of illness.

Then his office door opened and Mimosa came storming inside the room. Being one of his closest friends and the unofficial second Vice-Captain, Yuno didn't scold her. She announced, "Thank God, my mother is back, so I don't have to take care of my brother anymore…and you look pale as hell, Captain…Yuno, are you alright?"

Yuno blocked her out as he coughed and flowers came out of his mouth, heaving as he took in air.

"Yuno," he heard Mimosa call.

"We must get him to the infirmary immediately. Damnit, Langris is on a mission right now," Yuno heard William say, worried.

"I'm on it," declared Mimosa.

**Blue Roses **  
_(Meaning) unattainable_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Inside the Infirmary**  
**4th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Afternoon**

Charlotte felt the disapproval radiating from her Aunt Ruth, as her elderly aunt check over Charlotte's lungs. Trying to read a book dropped off by her little sister, along with a care package from her underlings at the Blue Rose Magic Knight squad, Charlotte wanted to snap at her aunt. She refrained because she respected her aunt very much and valued her opinion. Charlotte felt disappointed in herself that she had done something unbecoming a noble woman such as herself and brought some more shame to the Roselei family.

"Stop making that face, Lottie dear," said Aunt Ruth, lightly flicking Charlotte on the forehead.

"What face?"

"The face you make when you think that you've let down someone," said Aunt Ruth, knowingly. Then softly, she said, "You should just tell him. What's the worst that could happen, Lottie dear?"

Charlotte felt her face become warm. She snapped, "Nonsense, Aunt Ruth, _cough_ _cough_ I will not tell anyone anything. _Cough_ I am the Captain of the Blue Rose Knights and I have a _cough_ _cough_ reputation." There was no way that Charlotte would ever tell Yami a thing about her stupid feelings about him. She would never live it down after every terrible and mean thing she said to him over the years.

"I'm going to let that go, Charlotte, but do remember that I'm not one of your underlings that you can scare with your ice queen attitude," said Aunt Ruth, scolding. "I'm just saying. Consider the situation is all I'm saying, but it's up to you, as it was years ago with the Roselei family curse."

"Right, sorry, _cough_ Aunt Ruth," said Charlotte, quietly, and properly ashamed. "I'll think about it."

"Now, I have to wrangle young Leo, if you excuse—"

BANG.

The infirmary door was slammed open with a powerful kick and Charlotte barely could believe her eyes, just like the other occupants of the room who all turned to the commotion. The vermillion-haired Mimosa Vermillion had the young Captain of the Golden Dawn, Yuno, in her healing dome, practically strapped down. The Vermillion young woman looked beyond pissed.

"This dumbass needs medical attention!"

Charlotte almost giggled. Vermillion women were known to be the protective type and hell hath no fury like an overprotective Vermillion woman. However she didn't giggle, because she saw that Yuno was coughing up purple lilacs, quite a large amount too. He hadn't been initially effected by the curse like the rest of them, but he was part of the team capturing the enemy at the center of the situation. Charlotte had a bad feeling as her aunt rushed over to Mimosa and Yuno.

As Mimosa and Aunt Ruth got Yuno into the free bed next to Dorothy, Yuno had a look of stubbornness in his face. Once in the bed, Yuno glared at Mimosa, who glared right back at him. There was an argument inevitable between the two friends and Charlotte had enough of the chaos.

"Leopold," whispered Charlotte to the Crimson Lion young man in the bed next to hers.

Leopold was trying not to be idle by doing sit-ups but that was irritating his lungs and breathing more. He looked at her and whispered back, "Yeah?"

"I'm going for a walk," Charlotte said, softly.

Leopold nodded.

If it was four days ago and someone asked her opinion on Leopold Vermillion, she wouldn't have had much to say other than he was Mereoleona and Fuegoleon's little brother. But hard times call for strange bedfellows and Leopold was a very kind-hearted young man. There was a strange understanding between them—unrequited love and all that.

While Aunt Ruth was preoccupied by the young stubborn Captain of the Golden Dawn, Charlotte snuck out of the infirmary. Thankfully, Lady Solace or Dr. Owen weren't in the room, otherwise she would had never gotten away with it.

It was risk, taking a walk, but the constant trail of blue rose petals from her lips was nothing in her mind. The pain wasn't there. She just had to ignore it. She just wanted a quiet place to read her book and get some peace of mind. Eventually, she found a bay window where she could sit comfortably. The stained glass was a scene from one of the kingdom's history.

Sitting down, she managed to read ten pages before she felt a familiar mana approach her. She cursed under her breathe.

"The hell you doing out of the infirmary," demanded Yami

Charlotte internally flailed but her outward response was annoyance. "None of your concern _cough_. Don't you have a subordinate in the infirmary to bother?"

She barely could look Yami in the eye, however, because she knew that the flow of blue rose petals would increase if she did. It happened when he had stopped by to check up on Finral over the past few days.

"Yeah, and if you die in some corner, who's gonna know, Prickly Queen," replied Yami, with a scoff.

Charlotte glared at him, forgetting momentarily that she was supposed to avoid looking at him. "I can't just lay in bed _cough_ _cough_ and whittle away, Yami, honestly."

He was smirking and Charlotte felt her heartbeat increase, but also the pain in her lungs and more blue rose petals spilled out. The coughing fit began and she almost threw up. She retched, coughing up petals and blood, dropping her book on top of everything. She looked up at Yami, miserably attempting a glare at him.

Why did he always have to see her in such pathetic states? It was like the universe was trying to punish her for falling in love when she had always swore she wouldn't.

"For fuck's sake, Charlotte, you stubborn goddamn brat, you're going to hack up a fuckin' lung if ya continue like this," complained Yami. He sighed.

Charlotte wanted to curse him, but instead, he reached toward her and she was so tired that she didn't even protest. He threw her over his shoulder, as he was a stupid barbarian man, of course. She wanted to scream at him, but instead said, because her sore throat, "I hate you sometimes, Yami."

"Yeah, yeah, well, I hate you sometimes, too, Prickly Queen," responded Yami, automatically. "This time you're staying in the stupid bed until you're better, you got me?"

She didn't respond and he stopped talking as Yami took her back to the infirmary.

Charlotte hadn't been scolded like a child by Aunt Ruth in ages. It was so mortifying, but Leopold shared his apples with her afterwards so it wasn't all bad.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**5th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Asta entered the infirmary, but he knew better not to be disruptive to the people suffering there, so he only walked quickly to Yuno's bedside. He, of course, greeted Finral and Leopold on the way, but his main concern at the moment was Yuno. How could Yuno have possibly kept this from him?

He had been at the Black Bulls' Hideout, taking care of Yami's pets (because he was the only one that could feed them without losing an arm), when Marx sent him a message from Noelle. Noelle was temporarily staying in the Capital to help out in the infirmary. She told Asta that Yuno was dragged in by Mimosa the evening before coughing up purple lilacs. Asta almost didn't believe her because it was Yuno and Yuno was one of the strongest people he knew and _who was Yuno in love with so much that it caused him this pain?_ He briefly thought it might be familial or platonic, but Asta didn't see how since it was Yuno.

Since Asta knew that Noelle was no liar, he begged and pleaded with Magna to drop him off at the Capital. Magna agreed only because of the importance to Asta, but Magna was only waiting fifteen minutes in the courtyard where Asta left him. Magna had a squad cooperation dungeon mission to go on in an hour, so if Asta didn't get the answers in time, he'd have no ride to the Coral Peacock's Headquarters to meet up with Levi at noon.

Around Yuno's bed was the three people in the kingdom that would be able to help Yuno best and they all had solemn looks on their face.

"Are you ok," asked Asta, almost grabbing Yuno's hands. Asta stopped himself. He knew that Yuno was not okay with public displays of affection and Asta didn't want to embarrass his childhood friend. "Doc Owen, Lady Ruth, Lady Solace, is Yuno okay?"

"I'll be fine, Asta, _cough_ you don't have to be here _cough_," coughed Yuno, as more purple bulbs, no longer petals, came out of his bloody mouth.

At the same time, Lady Ruth said, "This fool thought it was a good idea to hide that he had been affected by the curse at the time when he caught the rogue wizard."

Asta frowned and leveled a look at Yuno's impassive, handsome face. "Really, Yuno?! What were you thinking?" Yuno said nothing. And Asta felt his anger building at the situation, but also a familiar other feeling.

"Not only that," said Lady Solace, gently rubbing Lady Ruth on the shoulders to calm the older woman down, "but it seems that Yuno has been affected by another version of the curse. Not the same one as everyone else."

"It's the worst version," whispered Dr. Owen, sympathetically. "Yuno must confess and get the love reciprocated otherwise…" Dr. Owen trailed off but Asta knew. Asta heard the earlier explanations when this whole mess started and Asta knew.

Yuno was not going to die on his watch.

Asta's heart felt like it dropped into stomach.

"Nonononononono, Yuno, no. This is not going to kill you. You're stronger than this," said Asta, feeling the dread claw its way out of his mouth, the dread and worry that he always tried to keep at bay in order not to seem overbearing. "Isn't there anything else we can do?!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**inside the Infirmary**  
**5th Day of the Curse**  
**during Asta's Panic**

While Asta panicked-asked a million questions to the three experts on the matter, Yuno laid on the bed absolutely beyond mortified. He was the Captain of the Golden Dawn. He was going to be the Wizard King. Asta was worried, Yuno could tell from the look on Asta's face. Asta never got worried, not like that.

Well, not anymore.

Yuno shook his head and looked morosely at Asta who asked every possible question to try to fix it. Asta was good at fixing things for other people, but this was something that Asta could not fix.

"I'm sorry, Asta," said Lady Solace, in calm, but mothering tone. It looked like the woman was holding herself back from hugging Asta. "We'll do everything we can as this one is so different…"

"Can my swords do something, anything?"

Before another tirade from anyone, Yami Sukehiro was suddenly in the room and putting his large hand on Asta's hand. "Calm down, brat. Let Lady Solace finish explaining."

With the comforting (?) presence of Captain Yami, Asta calmed down enough to shut up and listen. Yuno knew that Asta was ready for a fight, an argument. He prepared himself.

"This is the 10-week curse done by the rogue Heart Kingdom wizard. According to Yuno, he started with yellow primroses and now he's onto purple lilacs. Different flowers will appear according to the complexity of Yuno's feelings," said Lady Solace, clearly still resisting the urge to smother Asta with motherly love. "The petals will go to buds to eventually all stages of a flowers life."

"He'll be hacking up a whole flowers, stems and all, by week 8," said Lady Ruth, frowning deeply. "We have to stop it by then. I'm going to some heavy research but there's only one way, like Owen said. Confess and the love must be returned. No amount of acceptance is going to save you, young Yuno, I'm afraid."

Yuno opened his mouth to respond, but only more purple lilac stuff came out of his mouth.

"Damnit, Yuno, I will go get this person right now. You have to confess," said Asta, with a disgruntled and angry look on his face. Yuno knew that Asta wasn't exactly mad at him, but madder at the situation.

However, Yuno wouldn't risk Asta feeling guilt for not being able to return his feelings. Never. "No."

"Tell the person!"

"I won't," stated Yuno, blankly. He hoped that he was hiding his emotions enough.

For a moment, Asta's eyes flashed black, but back to his warm green eyes. He almost snarled at Yuno, "I can't talk to you right now."

With that Asta stormed out of the infirmary without so much as a goodbye to anyone, leaving the entire infirmary dead silent, guests and patients all awkwardly avoiding looking in Yuno's direction.

Yuno felt like the worst person in the world.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**inside the Infirmary**  
**5th Day of the Curse**  
**after Asta Stormed Out**

Charlotte winced as Asta stormed out of the infirmary. Over the three years that she had known the anti-magic young man, she had never seen him so furiously worried. Yuno looked like he wanted a hole to appear and swallow him into the ground. Sighing, Charlotte looked over at Leopold who had the strangest look on his face.

The rogue wizard really put them in all in a stupid mess, Charlotte thought with a shake of her head. She tried not to look at Yami, who had not spoken to her since yesterday after her attempted breakout. However, out of the corner of her eye, she watched Yami ruffle Yuno's hair before walking towards her.

Why was he walking towards her?

Charlotte schooled herself to be nonchalant. Well, she was nonchalant enough for having flower petals blocking your airways and spilling out of her mouth. "Will Asta be alright," she asked him as he sat in her visitor chair beside her bed.

"That brat? Yeah, once he cools down, he'll be alright," said Yami. The complete faith that he had in the members of the Black Bulls was truly astounding. "He'll…come around."

Then, silence befell them as Charlotte had no clue what to do because this was something unusual with her interaction with Yami Sukehiro. It was always the sniping and the banter, but never him sitting at her bedside attempting not be comforting or openly nice to her.

Charlotte sighed, "Why are you here?"

Yami doesn't respond.

Her nerves were at wit's end and the petals were building up as she tried to control the coughing, until he handed her a folded piece of paper. Curiously, she took the paper and opened it.

She stared and stared at the messy, almost unintelligible words on the paper in disbelief.

_**When you're done suffocating yourself to death over some dumbass moron, let's get dinner.**_

Charlotte coughed out the remaining petals, and for the first time in five days, her lungs felt clear.

And Charlotte Roselei, the Captain of the Blue Rose Knights and one of the most badass wizards of her age, burst into tears of relief.

"Yeah, okay," she sniffed.

"You're so lame."

"Oh my God, shut up," said Charlotte, still stifling.

Yami barked out a laugh and she smiled through the tears.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**One of the Courtyards**  
**5th Day of the Curse**

Magna was set to be sitting there for another five minutes, once he finished the chapter in the adventure book he was reading. He actually liked the squad cooperation dungeon missions, since it was a chance to fight alongside people with different magic and varying strengths, so he didn't want to be late. Asta needed to get there soon so Magna would be able to drop him off at the Coral Peacocks' Headquarters on the way to Magna's meeting spot with his temporary mission team.

What Magna didn't expect today was to see Asta running out of the Magic Knights' Headquarters like a bat out of hell straight towards him. And Magna knew his junior well enough to know that Asta was not in a good mood and he wanted to either fight or train until he passed out.

"Rasta, buddy, what's going on," asked Magna, concerned as Asta got to Magna and his broom.

For a minute, Asta looked unfocused and the flash of power from his demonic abilities flared in his eyes until Asta let out a sob.

"Asta?"

Asta never cried, well, he never cried, _seriously._

Flinching at the sound, Magna did the only thing he knew and that was give Asta a hug and pat his head as Asta cried, quite ugly, Magna thought to himself. This was quite unusual for Asta, something must have been very bad with Yuno. Magna wondered if he was going to have to go kick the wind boy's ass for Asta.

The sobs subsided almost as quickly as they started and Magna let Asta go. Asta hurried wiped his face and nose, trying to pretend nothing happened.

"You gonna tell me what that was all about, Asta?"

Magna stared at Asta, wondering what he was thinking. Asta was usually so easy to read. This was highly worrying.

Asta opened his mouth, shook his head, but then said, "Can you just take me to the Coral Peacocks' place?"

Magna frowned. But Asta was a stubborn guy and if he didn't want to talk, Magna wouldn't force him. "Alright, buddy. Let's get going."

"Thanks, Magna-senpai."

_Ch. End_


	3. Chapter 3

SPOILERS!

In my canon divergence, Asta and the Black Bulls didn't have to leave the Clover Kingdom to find the devils or whatever, Also, Julius is still the Wizard King, even though he de-aged, so oops, on my part.

I am really liking where Tabata is taking the Black Clover series. It was a nice twist. ALSO BLACK BULLS' ROAD TRIP IN HENRY'S MOVING HOUSE!

Warnings for this chapter:  
more blood, vomiting, black outs, arguing

So enjoy the chapter! This was is a doozy!

* * *

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Silva Homestead**  
**Dining Hall**  
**5th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

You could cut the tension with a knife, Noelle thought to herself. She would rather be at home at the Black Bulls' Hideout, or in the infirmary looking after Finral, or even training with her squadmates. Noelle knew that Nozel had been right. The only way to get out of a Silva family dinner was if there was an official mission.

Lucky Nebra was on a co-op mission with Magna and some others. Noelle was stuck sitting between Solid and Nozel for this dinner. The rest of the Silva family surrounded them, from various aunts, uncles, cousins, and other family members. She wanted to leave, but one could leave only when dismissed by Grandmother Silva.

Their father Argent had been dismissed at the start of the meal due to him claiming to "have a headache." She swore that Nozel looked like he wanted to tie his father to the chair to make him stay. Noelle loved her father but he was useless without their mother (according to Nebra). It didn't help that Solid was unnaturally quiet and timid in the presence of the matriarch of the Silva family.

Noelle felt highly uncomfortable. She dressed nice normally, but at family dinners, she had to force herself into a corset and a high-necked collar, long-sleeve itchy dress. She looked every part of royalty and it annoyed her that she wasn't home.

Because this place wasn't home.

She had never been more grateful to Nozel, after she had learned that he had been the buffer between Grandmother and Noelle, Nebra and Solid all these years without complaint. It turned out that Nozel sent Noelle off to the Black Bulls to protect her from being put under training with Grandmother's hand-picked bodyguards. Yami told her one night when he had gotten wasted why he allowed her in his squad in the first place.

"Young Lady Noelle, elbows off the table," snapped Grandmother Silva. "Living with commoners clearly made you devoid of your manners and decorum as a royal." Everyone stopped talking and eating to look at Noelle being scolded.

Meliora Silva had been the matriarch of the Silva Royal House since the death of her husband, Noelle's grandfather, Nerio Silva. Lady Meliora had been born in a noble house with the sole purpose of marrying into one of the royal houses. Her stern, wrinkled face hid that she had been a stunning beauty as a young woman. Despite her advanced age and white hair, she was quick as a tact.

Her steely blue eyes pierced Noelle straight to the core.

Noelle immediately moved her elbows off the table. She hadn't even noticed, but when you live with a human-dwarf hybrid with a bottomless stomach like Charmy, manners at the dinner table didn't matter. Noelle bowed her head, deferential. "Apologies, Grandmother."

The all-consuming feeling of _**wanting to go home**_ made some tears well up in her eyes, before she forced herself not to cry and attempt to continue eating in peace.

Conversation restarted amongst the aunts and uncles and cousins when one of them, Noelle didn't know who said, snottily,

"This whole nonsense with the curse wouldn't have happened if Nozel had been picked as the Wizard King, instead of Aldebrand's oldest son. He married a commoner, after all."

Noelle gripped her fork tighter. How dare they insult Fuegoleon Vermillion? She loved her brother, yes, but everyone agreed that Fuegoleon was the better choice to take over after Julius could no longer perform the duties of Wizard King. As a Magic Knight, loyalty to one's Wizard King was so ingrained that even Solid tensed up beside Noelle.

"Cousin Dynell," snapped Nozel, in his Captain authoritative tone he used when he was with the Silver Eagles normally or in the field with other Magic Knights, "watch your tone."

"Grandmamma, tell Nozel that he can't talk to me that," whined Cousin Dynell.

Noelle knew that was the wrong thing to say as she traded side-glances of worry with Solid. Nozel had been on edge since suffering from the curse and he's particularly strange lately. Noelle knew that he was going through something in his head that had to do with Noelle and her other siblings, but she didn't know what.

"Nozel, don't speak to your cousin that way," demanded Grandmother Silva. "Noelle, sit up straight will you! Honestly!"

Noelle cringed, but made to stop hunching over, when Nozel stood up from his chair abruptly.

"Enough. Solid, Noelle, we are leaving. When the rest of our family can see to it not to be rude and entitled to those that have fought time and again for the peace and prosperity of the Kingdom, then maybe we'll dine again together as a family should," said Nozel. He was stalking out of the room.

Noelle and Solid wisely followed their oldest brother, not wanting to be in that oppressive hall any longer.

Catching up with Nozel who was visibly mad (something she hadn't seen in ages because he was so stoic), Noelle said, "Brother, are you ok? Do you need to talk?"

Breathing in and out deeply, Nozel calmed himself down. "I'm sorry I made you come, Noelle, Solid. We won't have to do that anymore."

Noelle looked strangely at her brother.

Solid looked baffled.

Sighing, Nozel replied with a cryptic response that worried Noelle more than it should, "There are some thing that I must think about for the future, but you needn't worry yourselves with it at the moment. I will explain everything to you two and Nebra when I figure it out."

Noelle was troubled. Her brother was being weird.

**Grand Magic Zone Gravito Rock Zone, Neutral Territory**  
**6th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

Mereoleona Vermillion was royally screwed. She knew that she brought this upon herself, she knew she did, honestly. Fuegoleon was going to be so mad at her for putting him in this position.

She looked across the campfire to the three young girls that she found running from mercenaries from the Spade Kingdom four days ago. Mereoleona had rescued them after pummeling the mercenaries to dust. Taking a look at their dirty, scared faces made Mereoleona want to save them. It was a terrible feeling. She blamed her brothers, Asta, Noelle, and Zora for the feelings.

They were all about 11 years old. One had short dark brown hair, golden eyes, and tanned skin, she was hungrily gnawing on the bone of the boar beast that Mereoleona fried for dinner. Her name was Hanima. She had blue magic tattoos running up and down her arms, ones that Mereoleona knew blocked her magic use. She suspected Hanima to be a water-affinity wizard.

Another of the girls had toffee-brown eyes, black hair and an unnaturally pale complexion. Her name was Sabriel. The black magic tattoos ran up and down her neck and face for the same magic blocking purpose. Mereoleona suspected Sabriel to be a wind-affinity wizard.

The last of the girls troubled Mereoleona a bit more because she was very reminiscence of Zacharias. It must be her imagination but the soft vermillion-shaded blond hair and the green eyes reminded Mereoleona so much of her old friend. And here she thought that she was taking time away from home to reorient herself from the curse situation that she endured, but no, things couldn't go smoothly. This girl's name was Blue. She had gold magic tattoos running up and down her arms, neck and face. Most likely she had light-affinity magic.

Hanima, Blue, and Sabriel were all dirty, underfed, and unfortunately sick from being exposed to the elements and the natural magic in this area. Hanima and Sabriel both were unable to speak the Common Language, but Blue knew bits and pieces of it.

From what Mereoleona gathered, they came from a small town at the northern most edge of the Spade Kingdom. The town in question was something that she only ever heard rumors about in her travels—a town where magic was banned. Technically an autonomous land, it still had been claimed by the Spade Kingdom.

A wizard or witch unable to use his or her magic made them sick. It wasn't like with Asta, who had no magic at all. She had to bring them back to the Clover Kingdom to get Julius to remove this tattoos blocking their magic. It was an utter travesty to harm these girls in this way.

Blue explained how they ran away because together, they began attempting to learn magic without grimoires. Chased by the authorities of their town and the Spade Kingdom mercenaries, the three girls without use of their magic managed to make their way through hostile territory until they ran into Mereoleona.

She had been impressed at their ingenuity and resolve.

And it was why she needed to help them. Not only did her own morals dictate it, but she knew that one day, these three would become amazing wizards and it would be a shame to see them never grow into their power.

Her parents were also going to not be pleased either, due to her plan to get them into the Clover Kingdom. With the way things had been going, many were wary of outsiders and she knew that the stupid Magic Parliament were going to do something like put harsher restrictions on travel between kingdoms or whatever. Therefore, Mereoleona had a plan.

Honestly, it was more a plan worthy of Asta's dumbass but Mereoleona was not going to leave these girls.

"Can...we eat...more," asked Blue, hesitantly.

"As much as you like, I can always hunt more," said Mereoleona. If she was by herself, she would have gotten home in a day. Travel with the girls was slow due to the fact that they were small, weak, and had no powers. It was going to be a bit before she got back home.

Fuegoleon was going to have a heart-attack. She was certain.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Dungeon at the eastern edge near the border of Clover and Diamond**  
**6th Day of the Curse**  
**Nighttime**

"Alright, Magna will lead the way into the dungeon, as it is a narrow and dark passage, his flames in front would be best," said Mackenzie Ruford, 1st Class Senior Magic Knight of the Azure Deer. She had neatly-cut short brown hair and grey-eyes. She was the squad leader of this co-op team due to her ranking, though Magna had never worked with her before, she seemed like the no-nonsense, yet reasonable, get-the-job done type. "I'll take the rear. Lady Nebra will be behind Magna, and Fragil will be behind Lady Nebra. Once in the dungeon, we'll spread out and go from there. We must be wary, however, as the Diamond Kingdom wizards may appear to take claim to the dungeon."

"Yes, ma'am," said Fragil Tormenta, Mackenzie's subordinate as a 1st Class Intermediate Magic Knight in the Azure Deer squad. Magna had worked plenty of times with Fragil before. Her snow affinity magic was pretty cool. And Fragil always had sweet snacks on her that she shared.

"Whatever," Nebra snorted dismissively. As a 4th Class Senior Magic Knight of the Silver Eagles and a member of the Silva Royal Family, she was the worst person to have in a cooperative team mission.

Magna should know, because he was pretty sure that Captain Yami and Wizard King Fuegoleon was either out to annoy him to the nth degree or somehow hoped that Magna will get Nebra to be less hostile to non-Silver Eagle Magic Knights. To be fair, she had gotten a lot more tolerable since the war against the elves. She doesn't insult people anymore (mostly) and worked as hard as everyone else, it was just her attitude that grated on most people's nerves.

Magna felt his eye twitch. The only reason he hadn't challenged her to a fight to knock her down a peg or two was because she was Noelle's older sister. Magna knew how much Noelle was working mending her relationships with her older siblings and he didn't want to ruin anything for her.

"Sounds like a plan, team captain," said Magna. Despite having the lowest ranking as a 2nd Intermediate Magic Knight, he suspected that he was the second strongest in terms of mana levels (with Nebra outstripping him because she's a royal and they naturally have more mana) but the best at combat. Fragil and Nebra's magics were designed more for traps or behind-the-scenes moves. Mackenzie was an all-around wizard but a type to plan accordingly so no one had to fight. It was up to Magna to look out for his teammates, no matter what squad they came from or no matter if they were a stuck-up princess or not.

The point of cooperation mission between squads to promote good will and grow the ability to work with anyone regardless of magic, class or personality.

"Great," said Mackenzie, smiling. "Lead the way, Magna!"

Magna used his magic to light a torch and he led the way into the wet, damp breach to the dungeon below. He sensed the three women behind him, in the order that Mackenzie suggested. Eventually the small cavern opened up to a large maze dungeons. Maze dungeons were the worst.

Then he sensed four other distinct mana types nearby, stopping abruptly, causing Nebra to slam into his back.

"What's your problem," hissed Nebra.

Magna leveled a glare at the royal woman behind him and held up four fingers. "We are definitely not alone."

"Alright, be on guard, let's go," said Mackenzie.

The four Clover Magic Knights entered the dungeon, unknowingly headed straight into massive danger on a scale of which they hadn't seen in three years.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Somewhere in the Skies above the Clover Capital**  
**7th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

William Vangeance gnawed on his bottom lip in worry as he held several ancient texts in his arms, while Patri used his light magic to take them to the Magic Knights Headquarters. William was rather worried about Yuno. Certainly, he was worried about the others, especially his dear friend Dorothy, but Yuno had the assuredly fatal curse.

"You are going to make yourself bleed, William, you must relax," said Patri. They were sitting on a light-based carpet-like transportation spell. "Yuno is a strong wizard. I'm sure that once he realizes the situation, he'll have to confess to whomever he's in love with and it is Yuno, so only a fool would turn him down."

William sighed. "I don't think it's that easy for Yuno, Patri. Humans all get a little strange when it comes to the matters of the heart." He had been the same way, to be honest, he still was weird about romantic love. He always felt like he was not good enough, thanks his deep crippling insecurities about his birthmark. However, William had no idea what was stopping Yuno from confessing to Asta. Of course, William knew it was Asta. Asta was the only one that wasn't aware of the depth of Yuno's feelings for him. What's the saying? Sometimes, you can't see what's right in front of you.

Patri raised an eyebrow and scoffed. "I am well-aware of that fact."

"What's that supposed to mean," William asked.

"Licht fell in love with a human princess, did he not? Elves are more open to just tell another their feelings, and if hadn't been for Licht's forwardness and kindness, I doubt the princess would have said anything in fear of something," responded Patri, glibly. "And, you forget easily that I had shared a body with you for 28 years. You think I didn't notice the whole time."

William was lucky that his mask covered the majority of his face, because his face was on fire. He coughed. "I don't know what you're talking about, Patri."

"Right," said Patri, sarcastically.

"You are spending way too much time with the younger members of the Golden Dawn," mused William. Patri, since the battle three years, had been spending the majority of his time attempting to make amends. Most of his work centered on the Golden Dawn and the younger recruits had taken to Patri. They are a terrible influence on him, but Patri's getting along with humans so it's fine. Patri's sarcasm was a result of these interactions. "I'm not hiding anything."

Patri shook his head and amusedly replied, "So the fact that you've been wanting to go to the infirmary every day since the mess started to sit with Dorothy, but haven't, because she hasn't spoken to you in three years, doesn't mean anything, huh?"

William opened his mouth to respond, but shut it immediately. Patri was right. William had been a very terrible friend to Dorothy in the last three years. The two had been good friends long before they were Captains of their respective squads. They had bonded over their love of hats and masks. Dorothy had even gifted several masks to him over the years that he's kept safe, but never worn. And of course, William knew who Dorothy was coughing up pink rose petals for and it wasn't _him_. It was worse because everyone attended the wedding of the person that Dorothy was in love with, only a year and a half ago too.

The fact was that she was furious with him after the whole Eye of the Midnight Sun thing and maybe letting an elf taken over her body thing. It was a big betrayal, after all, and William didn't blame her for shutting him out of her life. Granted, mostly everyone who knew what he had done over time forgave him, even Julius, but once he saw the fury and the hurt in her eyes, he couldn't even bring himself to apologize properly. Words meant nothing, after all, if the actions didn't match.

"William," called Patri, as they approached the headquarters, getting ready to touch down on the ground, "I know better than anyone that it's never too late to learn from your mistakes and make up for what you've done wrong. An apology is a good start."

"Thanks, Patri."

"Of course."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks' Squad Headquarters**  
**Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion's Office**  
**7th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

If this was just another day, Asta would have been having a blast exploring the trippy and whimsical Coral Peacocks Headquarters. The floating castle hovered in the sky with purple daze dream clouds to stop intruders. The castles floors and ceilings were made of trampolines and pillows. Everything was bright, colorful, and fun.

Instead, Asta was in Kirsch Vermillion's office, which was the most normal-looking room in the entire castle, reviewing mission reports with Levi Roe, suffering while worrying about his childhood best friend and the rest of the victims in the infirmary back at Magic Knight Headquarters. Kirsch, in fact, did all the Coral Peacocks' paperwork because Dorothy was sleeping the majority of the time.

Asta wondered if Dorothy was more like Captain Yami, who just didn't give a damn about paperwork in the first place. Asta knew that Finral was the one that did all the Black Bulls' paperwork when Asta first joined the Black Bulls. Slowly, Asta and Noelle helped take some of the burden off their beleaguered older teammate.

"Yeah that guy doesn't seem like it, but he's actually very reliable and efficient. It's gross," said Levi, the first time Asta was taken to Kirsch's neatly and precisely organized office. Levi seemed to view Kirsch with grudging respect, which is how Asta viewed Kirsch after the first time they met at the Royal Knights Exams. But the other members seemed love their Captain and Vice-Captain very much.

Thankfully, the Coral Peacocks' squad was self-sufficient, probably due to the constantly sleeping Captain and the efficient, reliable Vice-Captain who had no time to micromanage. There was no backup of paperwork or reports, so everything was current.

"Umm, I'm a little confused, Levi," said Asta. He just read another report of a small team of Coral Peacock members (who were all commoners). "Kirsch doesn't like commoners, but the Coral Peacocks has members who are commoners and Dorothy is a witch from the Witches' Forest. I mean, you're a merchant's son, right?"

Levi snorted. "Vice-Captain is a complicated person. Despite his dramatics and attitude, he cares in his own way, his own…strange way. Kirsch respects Captain very much. We all do. And I think because of that respect, when Dorothy picked us for her squad, Kirsch basically forgot that we were commoners and focused on us being his squadmates above all else. Actually, I really don't know, but that's my best guess."

Asta sighed. "I hope they get better soon."

"You and me both, Captain Asta," said Levi. Then he said, "Not that hanging with you has been bad or anything, but without the Captain, no one has gotten any good sleep, and without the Vice-Captain, everyone's stressed about paperwork and keeping the squad functioning. It's a bad combination."

"Understandable," said Asta, feeling very much like an eighteen-year-old _kid_ and not a young man. The thought of someone coming in temporarily for Captain Yami was disheartening. He always made everyone push past their limits. "Do you think that Captain Dorothy and Kirsch will be able to overcome the curse?"

"Yes," said Levi, without an ounce of doubt in his voice. "You still worried about Captain Yuno, huh?"

"Yeah," replied Asta. He honestly didn't know what to do with Yuno. While he had visited, there wasn't much to say since Yuno won't listen and Asta just wanted him to get better.

"You're not the only one that cares about the people in the infirmary," said Levi, with a sympathetic smile. "Let's get this done and hopefully the cook set up the ice-cream bar in the kitchen again."

Asta nodded.

But what Levi said gave him an idea. It might work.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Inside the Infirmary**  
**7th Day of the Curse**  
**Noonish**

Leopold was so done with this whole situation. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go back to training and missions. And he wanted not to think about feelings. After a couple of days of being cooped up and monitored, Leopold was bored. In his boredom, he made friends with Captain Charlotte, who was actually super cool and she promised to stop by to bring him some books and snacks. He also befriended Finral, who was super energetic for someone ill. Leo and Finral had taken to teasing Leopold's cousin Kirsch. Kirsch insisted that he had no unrequited feelings for anyone and complained the most.

However, being in the infirmary also meant constant visits from his mother, Lady Ruth (who hurt if you didn't listen to what she said) and beleaguered Dr. Owen. The hovering the medics were doing was actually kind of stressful.

At the moment, Leo was on his best behavior since his mother was the medic on duty and the fact that Uncle Sazerac and Aunt Nickole were there visiting Kirsch. Kirsch was attempting to soothe his parents' worries, even with Aunt Nickole attempting to get Kirsch to tell her who he was in love with and if she could set up something for him. Poor Kirsch. At least, Finral had his new cute girlfriend Finesse to keep him company. They were kind of sickeningly in love.

Leopold didn't want to look at the Queen of Hearts, because she was in bad shape, or Yuno, because he looked like death warmed over and Leopold was actually worried for him. And Captain Dorothy was still sleeping away, despite the pink roses steadily falling from her mouth.

"Ah, son, you look dreadfully bored," said the familiar calming tone of his father, Aldebrand Vermillion. His father was an ultra-busy man, just like Fuegoleon. Leopold loved and respected his father very much. Leo felt bad about taking him away from his busy schedule just to visit him. "Dear, I'm going to take Leo for a short walk. He needs some fresh air."

"Of course, sweetheart, just be sure that if his coughing gets worse to bring him right back," said his mother. Solace was busy attending to the Queen of Hearts.

"Naturally," said Leopold's father. "Let's go, my boy."

Taking advantage of getting out of the infirmary for a while, he got out of the bed and slipped his shoes on his feet to follow his father out of the infirmary. His father, who Fuegoleon took after in looks the most, stood close by Leopold, just in case. It almost felt like Leo was a little kid again and not a nineteen-year-old young man.

"Come, let's go to the courtyard, Leo," said his father, gently leading Leopold to the nearest outside courtyard by the infirmary.

"Thanks _cough_ for coming to _cough_ visit, Father, I _cough_ appreciate it," said Leopold.

"Nonsense, Leo. You're my son, of course I'm going to come and check on you," replied his father.

Finally outside, Leo felt a bit more like himself as the sun beat down and the fresh air filled his bruised and battered lungs. They found one of the benches and took a seat. "Ah, that sun _cough_ feels nice."

"As a fire affinity wizard, staying out of the sun is no fun," commented his father. "We'll go back in a bit, so long as you're okay. Let's not invoke the wrath of your mother."

Leopold grinned at his father. "Yeah. It's not so bad. _Cough_ _cough_ The pain is dull."

"Means you're getting used to it," said Aldebrand, turning a critical eye on Leo. "Leo, I've never interfered with you and your siblings' choices. Mereoleona chooses not to marry. And Fuego chose to marry the love of his life and not to the arranged fiancée picked by my parents."

Leopold nodded. The fact remained that Mereoleona being an unmarried woman in her thirties was practically unheard and Fuego marrying for love, a commoner no less, was also something not done. But their parents supported the decisions. "Well, I can't really see Big Sister _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ ever getting married. And Big Brother _cough_ deserves all the _cough_ happiness in the world."

Aldebrand chuckled. "Yes, I agree. But Leo, I know you won't tell your mother or your brother, but won't you tell me? If there's something I can do to help, I want to."

Leopold knew someone would ask eventually. No one dared asked the Queen of Hearts. Asta asked Yuno and that caused an argument. Finral's flowers were for his brother Langris, everyone knew it. And Kirsch was mum on the subject, in complete denial. Leopold had told one person—his friend Fragil, who knew all the best places to get sweet treats. But Fragil was busy on missions and he didn't want to burden her anymore.

He really wished it wasn't his father that asked Leo this question, however. It was not that he didn't trust his father or want to confide in him. His father was a good, strong, kind man who never had anything bad to say about anyone. Leopold just didn't want to seem any weaker in front of his father.

Truthfully, Leopold probably spent more time with Fuegoleon growing up than his father, but that didn't mean anything. It didn't mean that his father loved him less.

"Leo, stop it. I don't think you're weak," said his father, sternly. How did Leo's father know what Leo was thinking? Did his father really pay that close attention to Leo? "You are my son, you are your mother's son, and you are your siblings' brother, there's no weakness in you. Love is complex, especially when you are dealing with a curse on top of it. Unlike Fuego who had an emotional maturity about him forever and Mereoleona who just says what she thinks, you are more like me. When I fell in love with your mother 36 years ago, I couldn't handle it. My responsibilities as heir to the Vermillion family weighed heavily upon my shoulders. I didn't think I was good enough for her, despite her background and couldn't bring myself to fight my father for my chance to court and marry her."

"But you did, _cough_ because you two _cough_ are married," said Leopold.

"Yes, after your mother turned around and asked to court me in turn. Oh, the horror of the older generation of a nobleman's illegitimate daughter courting the male heir of the Vermillion House. It was scandalous then," mused Aldebrand. "It's okay to have feelings. And even if things seem like it's hopeless, never give up. You might be surprised at what may happen."

Leopold sighed. He felt the heavy weight on his lungs. "I have no chance, _cough_ _cough_ though, Father. Really, I don't. _Cough_ I don't know why my heart _cough_ _cough_ did this to me, made me have these _cough_ _cough_ feelings for someone who won't be able to love me _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ back because they already_ cough_ love someone more than anything."

"Have you told them? How can you be sure?"

Leopold laughed, self-deprecatingly. "_Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ You would have to be blind not to see how Asta _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ looks at Yuno, Father."

And then Leopold realized that he just said out loud what didn't want to say. Men being in love with other or women being in love with other women was fine, but only if you weren't royalty or nobility.

"Oh, son," said his father, unable to keep the sympathy out of his voice. "Asta is a good kid, an honorable Magic Knight, despite having no magic, and he's very honest and earnest to a fault, isn't he? I can see why you fell for him. Have you talked to him?"

"I can't," whispered Leopold. "Father, _cough_ I don't know what to do." He won't cry. He won't cry, not now, not in front of his father.

"Asta being in love with someone else does not, in any way, shape or form, invalidate _your_ feelings. You have a right to tell him how you feel, and if he's the young man that you and I both know him to be, he'll listen and still be your friend at the end of the day," said Aldebrand.

Leopold felt the tears before he could stop them. He sniffled once, then twice. He hurriedly wiped his face. He was an ugly crier.

Then strong, warm, steady arms wrapped around him in a tight hug as his father pulled him into an embrace. "It's okay, Leo, I'm here."

And Leopold held on to his father and cried.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Wizard King's Office**  
**7th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Fuegoleon Vermillion had wanted to be the Wizard King since he was a little boy. He just never knew how much of a headache it was deal with the ins and outs of politics of kingdom based on magic. While the Magic Knights were the main military force of the Kingdom, they were not given free reign over anything. Everything had to pass through the Magic Parliament's hands before major orders to be given. Ultimately, the reigning monarch had last say over everything.

The Magic Parliament will be issuing new orders beginning next month, banning all inter-kingdom travel without express permission and appropriate documents (i.e. someone's merchant's license, etc.). Mereoleona had better get back home soon or there will be an incident on their hands. Not to mention inter-realm travel continued to be limited. How were young aspiring wizards supposed to get to the Capital for the Magic Knights Exams if they needed notarized permission from the magistrate of the next realm over? Fuegoleon really needed to call another Captains' meeting.

This was a goddamn mess.

"Sir, sorry to interrupt you, but we have a situation in the dungeons," exclaimed Marx, rushing into Fuegoleon's office.

"Yes, Marx," asked Fuegoleon, wishing for a vacation somewhere where no one knew his name.

"The rogue Heart wizard has been found dead in his cell. The cause of death was some sort of suicide pact curse," Marx declared.

Fuegoleon sighed. "Unbelievable. Marx, please investigate the situation. Find out how he accessed his magic since he was to be cut off from his mana with magic dampening spells. Have Dr. Owen inform the Queen of Hearts of the situation. We'll keep this quiet until we can figure out what really happened," ordered Fuegoleon.

"Yes, sir," said Marx. "I'm on it. Also Sal is on her way, just to let you know and she has a look on her face."

"Ugh, more bad news, alright. Get to it, Marx. Keep me aware of the situation," he replied. Marx nodded and left to do his orders. There was a reason why Fuegoleon kept Marx on as the Wizard King's assistant. The man was good at his job. Fuegoleon can see why Julius brought Marx from Grey/Azure Deer with him when Julius became Wizard King.

A knock on the door had Fuegoleon's attention as Sal entered the office. Sal was as tall as him with medium length, untamed black hair and grey eyes. She was formerly of the Grey/Azure Deer as a 1st Class Senior Magic Knight, but when Julius became Wizard King, she was brought along with him. Sal is an expert in the fields of magical theory and did a lot of leg-work research for Julius' curious magic nerd mind.

Sal was also Fuegoleon's wife of almost two years.

"So, what the hell was Marx's rush," asked Sal, finding a seat in front of his desk. "And you look peeved. So either it was the rouge wizard again or the Magic Parliament or both."

Fuegoleon shook his head. "How do you even know sometimes…? Anyway, yes, the Magic Parliament is troublesome as always, but the Captains and I will figure something out. And unfortunately the rogue wizard has died via a suicide curse."

Sal grimaced. "Well, your day is about to get worse, dearest."

"Nice try to lessen the blow. But you using a pet name is weird. But I figured you had bad news. What did you find out?"

"The rogue wizard wasn't working alone. And I think we are going to have an Eye of the Midnight Sun problem."

"Good Lord in Heaven."

"Yeah, she can't help us now, Fuego."

"I know. Explain."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**7th Day of the Curse**  
**Dinnertime**

Langris Vaude returned from his mission to find out that his Captain was in the infirmary with the unrequited love curse. Langris didn't necessarily like Yuno, but he respected the younger wind wizard, even if Langris got passed over for Captainship for him. Nonetheless, after the whole elf-taking-over-his-body thing and almost murdering his older brother, Langris was trying to learn to let things go and not take everything to heart.

Even if meant playing nice with the younger wizard that took his rightful spot as the Captain of the Golden Dawn, Langris was trying, sort of. Well, he and Yuno haven't gotten into any arguments over leading the squad in a year, so that's progress. So it was the respect for the position of Captain that had Langris going to report directly to his Captain in the infirmary.

Admittedly, he was trying to avoid the infirmary because Finral was there and they haven't really spoken in three years since Langris' attempted murder of him (well, nothing outside of Magic Knight business). Langris didn't even thank Finral for saving him back then, either. Finral's face would either send him into a flying rage or make him feel massive amounts of guilt and other feelings he had rather not feel. It didn't help that Alecdora heard that Lady Finesse had confessed to Finral on top of the situation, so if Langris' fiancée was there, it would be even more awkward.

Entering the infirmary, Langris was not able to avoid making direct eye contact with his brother. He and Finral stared at each other for a long time, much more than what was appropriate until his brother began vomiting up ungodly amounts of cherry blossoms. It caused the old man doctor to rush over to help as Lady Finesse panicked her pretty empty head over Langris' brother. It just meant that Langris was able to make a beeline for Yuno.

William and Patri (ugh, Patri, thought Langris to himself) were at Yuno's bedside, though he noted that William was closer to the sleeping Captain Dorothy's bed.

"Captain Yuno, you look terrible. How could you let this happen to yourself?"

"Langris _cough_," nodded Yuno in greeting.

Langris gritted his teeth. "Well, I suppose that William will take temporary command of the Golden Dawn while you slowly die."

Yuno gave him a stoic stare. Yuno had a punchable face, but Langris held back as the Captain spoke, "Actually, against my better judgement, _cough_ _cough_ I'm leaving the Golden Dawn in your surprisingly capable hands. _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ You have lead the squad before when _cough_ Captain William was away. William will be our go-between. _Cough_ _cough_ No major changes and no scarring the younger recruits for life."

"Taking all my fun away, I see," said Langris, half-joking. He was trying to be more approachable. Joking around was not his strong suit and Yuno's deadpan stare meant his joke fell flat. "Very well. I hope you have a plan on how not to die, otherwise everything you've done up until now would have been a waste of everyone's time."

It would be a pity to see Yuno die before Yuno and the annoying Asta watch Langris became Wizard King.

"Thank you for all your hard work, Langris" said William, coming over to nudge Yuno. Sometimes, William had to remind Yuno to give out positive reinforcement praise.

"What _cough_ he said," said Yuno.

"Nice," said Langris, scoffing. "Well, I'll take my leave. I need a good night's sleep if I'm going to have to clean up your mess."

He turned to stalk out of the room, making sure not to look in his brother's direction again. No one said goodbye and Langris didn't care.

Unfortunately, he was not home-free yet because someone small and weak grabbed his arm. It was Lady Finesse with a fire in her eyes.

"Are you not going to even say anything to your brother, Lord Langris?! After everything, you won't even ask how he's doing," scolded Lady Finesse.

Langris ripped his wrist out of her hands and glared at her. "Mind your business. I take it that you've told your parents that you are not marrying me but my brother."

Lady Finesse paled, which told him that no, she did not inform her parents of the decision. "I'm not worried about that now. You've hurt Finral by ignoring him."

Langris glared and snapped. "Why would he care if I ignored him?! We have done just fine without each other for three years. He doesn't need _me!_ Go back to coddle him, I don't have time for this!" And he stormed off, knowing that he was leaving her baffled and people probably overheard him yelling at Lady Finesse.

This day sucked. He was ready for it to be over.

And he wasn't going to think about his stupid brother either.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**A Small Town between the Blue Rose Knights' HQ and the Black Bulls' Hideout**  
**7th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening, Just after Dinner**

Charlotte wanted to die of embarrassment. This was just how she expected a date with Yami to go. She was super awkward and couldn't utter a sentence together around him, while he walked around the town, eating from foot stands and having a bored look on his face. They were walking to the restaurant in complete silence. Her sister Lerola thought the restaurant in this town would be best since it was neither fancy nor rundown. She was dressed nicely but not too nice. And he was dressed in his regular everyday clothes.

"Oi, Prickly Queen, I'm starved, where's this place," drawled Yami. He said this while stuffing his face of fried beef on a stick.

Charlotte felt her eye twitch as he sounded so bored and dismissive. After suffering for so long because of her feelings both before the curse and because of the curse, she just wanted to have a good time with the man she loved. Was that too much to ask?

She snapped, "You're the one that asked me to dinner in the first place! If you were going to complain so much, why did you let me pick where we go?"

"Because where I would pick would be too low-brow, your noble highness," he replied, sarcastically. "And you can't hold your alcohol for shit. So food where you like."

Charlotte wrinkled her nose. "Don't be strangely considerate, you asshole. I'm supposed to be annoyed with you."

Yami paused and stared at her. Then he smirked. "There's the Charlotte Roselei I like."

Charlotte flushed. It was the first indication that he actually liked her. The strong feeling of hope that he returned her feelings was the reason she beat the curse. She actually smiled (causing mild heart-attacks for the other men in the town who were outside). "You're lucky that I'm hungry too, otherwise we would fighting now."

"I'll take you on anytime, but you're right. Food first."

They eventually found the place. Thankfully, her sister was enough of a foodie that the place was actually good. It wasn't too busy as it was well after dinner rush, but before the real night crowd came out.

"Swanky. Ooh, they have duck," said Yami, entering the place without Charlotte.

No reservation required, the hostess seated them and gave them menus.

Charlotte looked over her menu to see Yami winced. He must have saw the prices. Yami was a Captain, but she knew that he not only gambled away half of his pay, drank another ¼ of it, but put the rest back in his squad (taxes on the house that Henry couldn't pay; new robes every time one got destroyed in a fight, etc.). He didn't have any other form of income, except his Magic Knight Captain pay. "I'll pay this time. Perhaps, next time, I'll join the Black Bulls for one of Charmy's feasts."

"I like how you think. Then, I'm getting the steak."

Charlotte rolled her eyes.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls' Hideout**  
**8th Day of the Curse**  
**Early Morning**

"Please, guys, I know that you both are off today. I would really appreciate you guys doing this for me," said Asta. He had his hands clasped together and he was pleading with both Gauche and Gordon to do him this big favor. He was doing his best puppy-dog eye impression.

Gauche looked less than impressed. "Stop it. You're being gross. Marie is still the cutest thing in the world."

"Please Gauche. Can you just bring Sister Lily, Father and the kids from the orphanage to visit Yuno? Please, please," said Asta. There was no way that he could get them there on his own since he had no magic.

Gauche looked rather annoyed but Gordon was whispering…something.

(Gordon was saying: _**"Of course, I'll help you out Asta. We're best friends after all."**_)

"Between the two of you, you'll be able to get them there by the afternoon," said Asta. "Yuno won't listen to me, so maybe he'll listen to them."

With a scoff and roll of his eyes, Gauche replied, "You know that's rather devious of you to give Yuno a guilt trip. It is really that bad. I suppose then, I don't have a choice since you'll bug me forever if I don't. But know this, Asta, you will not marry Marie."

Asta flailed his arms in protest. "I told you that I don't want to marry your sister!"

"And what's wrong with Marie? She'll make someone a wonderful wife, even if that person will die a horrible death after the wedding," replied Gauche.

Asta groaned. "I'm not arguing with you again about this, Gauche. Please, you two, don't traumatize the kids. Again I really appreciate this and I'll make it up to you both!" Asta had to get outside and wait for Levi to pick him up, but he heard Gauche call after him.

"Promises, promises, brat!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital – Shopping District**  
**8th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Vanessa loved shopping with Noelle. Noelle had so much excess money and the young royal didn't care if Vanessa wanted five of the same dress, Noelle would buy it immediately for her. Naturally, Vanessa didn't take advantage of Noelle's lack of money sense often. But, Noelle needed a break from all her stress of worrying about Asta, Yuno, Finral, Kirsch, Leopold and Captain Dorothy. In addition, the added stress of doing all of Finral and Asta's Black Bulls' work. But most of all, Vanessa wanted to spend some quality time with her.

Since most of the Black Bulls had been traveling in and out of the Capital to visit Finral in the infirmary, Noelle had gotten whisked away too many times to spend time with her big brother Nozel.

Vanessa was not jealous. She really wasn't. She was glad that the pompous, arrogant Captain of the Silver Eagles was being the big brother he was supposed to be years ago to Noelle. Vanessa was happy that even the worse siblings of Solid and Nebra were making strides to be better to Noelle as well. Noelle deserved all the happiness in the world.

"What do you think? Is this too fancy a dress for meeting up with Kahono," asked Noelle, holding up a pretty sun-dress.

It snapped Vanessa out of her thoughts (man, did she need a drink). "Cute, cute, but how about this one?" Vanessa pulled out of the racks a fancier and sexier dress.

Noelle's face flushed. "Uh, no way, I can't wear that, Vanessa! It's not a date, how many times do I have to tell you?"

"You can't fool me," said Vanessa, teasingly. "She's a cute girl and she knows you're super amazing. I'm happy for you."

"You're so embarrassing," said Noelle, half-complaining but completely fond. "Oh! I forgot to tell you what happened after the dinner the other night."

Vanessa followed Noelle around the store, adding things to the pile for Noelle to try, while listening to Noelle.

"So after Nozel scolded Grandmother, he took me and Solid for ice cream. Can you believe it?! I mean, it's something that I would have wanted when I was a little kid, but it was kind of sweet at the same time," said Noelle. "I don't think Solid knew what was going on, so he was quiet the entire time, which was a blessing in itself."

Vanessa giggled. Nozel _really_ was trying to make up for lost time, wasn't it? If it wasn't so sad, it would almost be cute. "He does realize that you're 18 now, right?"

Noelle shrugged, looked at the pile of clothes they pulled and said, "I think that's enough for now."

Vanessa sighed. "Okay, but come show me each one! I want to see how beautiful you look in everything."

Noelle flushed under the praise. But before she went into the dressing room, she said, softly, "You know I'm really lucky. I've got my Black Bulls family and my siblings supporting me. I'm so glad I am loved now."

She disappeared into the dressing room, while Vanessa hurried to wipe her eyes of pesky tears. There would be no waterworks from this witch today.

(Moments later, Vanessa did burst into tears as soon as Noelle stepped out of the dressing room in a beautiful casual dress and Vanessa hugged Noelle so hard, crying, but that was neither here nor there).

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**8th Day of the Curse**  
**Noon**

Charmy zoomed into the infirmary. She had been spending a lot of time there lately. She was worried about poor Finral and now her food-saving Prince Yuno was affected. Of course, Charmy knew that Yuno wasn't in love with her (his loss, in her opinion), but she still thought he was cool. She kept coming to feed the people in the infirmary her healthy and yummy food to lift their spirits.

"Hiya, Charmy," said Finral, once she entered. Today, he didn't have his pretty girlfriend at his side. Lady Solace told Finesse off for not resting herself and sent her on home. Finral was playing cards with the Queen of Hearts, who was actually sitting up and more alert today than the past few days. "No, _cough_ _cough_ I don't have any eights, go fish, your Highness."

Charmy giggled as the Queen of Hearts jokingly and dramatically reached for the deck that was placed on the table between the two beds. "You are _cough_ _cough_ too good at this game, _cough_ _cough_ Lord Roulacase."

"None of that Lord "nonsense," _cough_ _cough_ I am but a mere Magic Knight," Finral replied jokingly.

She was glad that Finral wasn't taking this whole curse thing to hard—making friend with the Queen of Hearts and occupying both Kirsch and Leopold so they were distracted from the problem at hand. Everyone else in the room looked like death warmed over, though, in Charmy's humble opinion. Yuno looked like death warmed over, especially when William, Mimosa or Klaus visited. Leopold was five seconds from crying half of the time. Kirsch complained about everything. And Captain Dorothy still didn't wake up to deal with anything.

"Ahh, Miss Charmy, you brought more food," said Lady Solace, standing up from her seat at the desk. She liked the Vermillion Lady. She was soft and warm. "Will you make plates for everyone while I fetch Lady Ruth?"

"Okay," said Charmy, beaming a big grin. She loved to feed people, even though she liked eating more herself. She fished out the plates that were kept in the infirmary for any visitors and sick people. She piled meat, vegetable and starch on the plate. She served Kirsch first since he was the closest.

"Eat everything on your plate or else."

"Yes, _cough_ _cough_ Charmy," replied Kirsch, who after the first time knew not to cross Charmy.

Then, Charmy went to work filling up plates of food for everyone.

After that, she served Dorothy, who was able to eat while sleeping. It was something that Charmy also had mastered in order to eat as much as a humanly and dwarfly as possible. After that she went over to Leopold and served him his plate of food, but he had sweets provided Fragil.

"Thanks, Charmy. _Cough_ _cough_ This looks good as always," said Leopold, digging in before the coughing up flowers activated again.

Charmy was pleased. Leopold always remembered his manners. She liked the vermillion-haired young man.

"Yuno! I put extra vegetables on your plate. You need the vitamins," said Charmy. She gave the plate to Yuno, ignoring the look from the wind sprite Bell. "Tell me if you want seconds."

"Uh, _cough_ thank you, _cough_ Charmy."

"Make sure you eat everything. You need your strength to fight this," said Charmy. She believed that good food could solve everything, after all. Yuno looked so tired. She knew that he and Asta had been arguing every time Asta came to visit him, recently.

Yuno was never big on smiling to reassure, but he did nod at her once.

She rushed to get the last two plates over to the Queen of Hearts (whose bodyguards test-tasted the food) and Finral. Finral got a few extra goodies, because he was her squadmate and friend. She finally sat in the guest chair next to Finral's bed.

"Thank you_ cough_ _cough_ for everything, _cough_ _cough_ Charmy. You're the best," said Finral, smiling at her.

Charmy giggled. "Of course! We Black Bulls are a family!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Blue Rose Knights' Headquarters**  
**8th Day of the Curse**  
**Little Bit After Noon**

"Come on, Big Sis, we need to get going!"

"Let her be, Lerola, Big Sis can take as much time as she needs!"

Charlotte sighed as she exited the headquarters of the Blue Rose Knights to find Sol and Lerola arguing again. They were always arguing since they met years ago. Sol's admiration and Lerola's devotion were two different things. Lerola was Charlotte's sister and they had a closeness that allowed Lerola to love and admire Charlotte, but not let Charlotte get away with anything. Sol was much more overprotective but in a well-meaning way.

One day, the two would eventually learn to get along, Charlotte thought to herself. She suspected that they both also had big crushes on each other.

"Enough, you two, don't embarrass us in public with petty arguing," ordered Charlotte. Lerola and Sol snapped to attention. The three were going off on a training trip to practice some combination magic. It was Lerola's idea to strengthen bonds in the Blue Rose Knights squad.

Charlotte thought it was a good idea, so they were going to start and see how it went, before asking others to do so.

Then, Marx's face appeared before her.

"_Captain Charlotte, we have a situation. You are one of the closest captains to the Village of Kende. The co-op team sent to the latest dungeon has shown up there and requires assistance!"_

Charlotte nodded and took off, yelling at Lerola and Sol to "Go on without her!"

When she arrived in Kende, a small village at the edge of the Noble Realm, she immediately sensed familiar mana. She rushed to find that the town's doctor was already trying to tend to the four members of the co-op team.

A familiar shadow appeared next to her. "Yami!"

Yami nodded at her and they both rushed to where Magna, Nebra, Mackenzie and Fragil were at the gate of the village. Magna was the only one awake, but barely. Nebra and Fragil were out-cold but Mackenzie was stirring. It looked like they all had been through a ringer.

The town's mayor was distressed. "This young man came barreling in, carrying all three of those young ladies, demanding medical attention and for someone to call the Magic Knight Headquarters. I have never seen such a feat. Had the young man not gotten us, the silver-haired woman would have died." The town's doctor had strong enough magic it seemed to stop all the bleeding all four of them, thankfully. Charlotte didn't want to see Nozel's face if he found out that his sister bled out from a wound.

Not wasting anymore time, Charlotte summoned enough vines to be able to pick them all up gently. 'Yami, guard my back, let's get them to HQ."

"Roger that, Prickly Queen."

As Charlotte transported the beaten team, she heard Yami talking calmly to his underling.

"Captain, it was so bad, so bad, the Spade Kingdom, we have to tell the Wizard King. The Queen of Hearts is in danger," mumbled Magna in his delirium.

"Easy, kid. Let's get you healed up and then you all can tell us what happened."

Charlotte grimaced. It didn't sound good. All Charlotte could think was what could be next to attack their Kingdom?

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**Captain's Meeting Room**  
**8th Day of the Curse**  
**Early Afternoon**

"Alright, alright, everyone settle down," said Fuegoleon, entering the Captain's meeting and immediately getting to business. It still pained Fuegoleon that all the Captains were not there. Asta was in place of Dorothy. Langris was in place of Yuno. Randall was in place of Mereoleona.

(Where the hell was Mereoleona at a time like this? This was just like his sister.)

"As you know, we recently sent a co-op team to the recent dungeon that appeared at the border of our Kingdom with the Diamond Kingdom," said Fuegoleon. "The team managed to get all the back to the edge of the Royal Realm with severe injuries. All four team members are in the infirmary, on the mend as we speak. They were able to report to me and it's troubling."

"My poor Mackenzie and poor Fragil," cried Rill.

"Shut up, Rill, not the time," scolded Nozel, who had been stressing since Nebra was brought in.

"Anyway," Fuegoleon cleared his throat and leveled a stare at everyone in the room, "When they had arrived at the dungeon, the team was immediately confronted by four Spade Kingdom wizards. According to the descriptions that Magna and Mackenzie were able to get, I have deduced that these wizards are a part of a separate branch of military in the Spade Kingdom, focused solely on assassinations, intelligence and espionage. From records, these people are all on the level of their Generals."

"Well, that sucks," said Asta, growling. "Did they say anything to Magna and the rest about what they wanted and why they were so far from the Spade Kingdom?"

"Luckily, Fragil overheard one of the younger ones saying something about the Queen of Hearts," said Fuegoleon. "I spoke with the Queen of Hearts as well. It seems that the Queen of Hearts and the King of Spades have had some diplomatic incidents over the years, but the main one was that the King of Spades' oldest son, uh, kidnapped and killed the Queen of Hearts' cousin, several years back. So, uh, it looks like the Queen of Hearts' had the Prince of Spades assassinated."

A pin drop could have been heard in the room.

"I see," said Charlotte. "Serves the disgusting pig right."

"Be it as it may, here's where things start connecting. The assassin assigned to take out the Prince of Spades was Flower Curse wizard that caused us our troubles. In order to save face, after the assassination, the Flower Curse wizard was banished from the Heart Kingdom under the falsity of murdering people for no reason that Yuno reported at the beginning of this whole ordeal," said Fuegoleon, sighing.

"Unbelievable," said Kaiser, sighing. "So because the Prince of Spades kidnapped the Queen of Hearts' cousin, we have some of our Magic Knights out on medical for curses and internal injuries?"

"Basically. It also means that the Queen of Hearts is in danger. Her entourage left three days ago, and she only has the three bodyguards," said Fuegoleon, continuing. "We must get the Queen of Hearts back to her Kingdom, in order to get her behind the natural magical barrier. We will send a team to escort her there. Dr. Owen will go to monitor the Queen's health. Nozel, I want you to lead the team."

"Understood," said Nozel. "Who should I take with me?"

"I'll go," said Asta.

Fuegoleon shook his head. He knew that Asta was getting restless and wanted to do something more to help. "I need you here, Asta, until Kirsch or Dorothy get better. Langris, you can't go either." He cut Langris off before the young nobleman could also offer.

"If I may make a suggestion," said Kaiser. "I believe that the Coral Peacocks' Levi's barrier ability and the Black Bulls' Vanessa's strings of fate ability would add to the protection of the Queen of Hearts. In addition, I believe that young Edward Kairos should go as well." Edward Kairos was the alias of Julius Novachrono, who was stuck growing up again and he was hanging out in the Purple Orcas squad as a squad member.

Fuegoleon was glad that, at least, one of his captains was as sensible as Kaiser. "Agreed. Also Sal will be going as well, since she's studied the magical areas over by the border a lot over the years. Asta, Yami, Kaiser tell Levi, Vanessa and Edward to be ready for tomorrow morning. I will let the Queen of Hearts and her bodyguards know what will happen."

"Yes, sir!"

"Everyone dismissed." The captains filtered out of the room to go back to work, except Nozel.

"I'll prepare the routes and check the weather reports" said Nozel, with a sigh. "You'll look after my siblings while I'm gone, Fuego?"

"Of course," said Fuegoleon. "And if you see Mereoleona out there, tell her to get home immediately."

"Like she'll listen."

Nozel left to get ready for the mission, leaving Fuegoleon with his thoughts.

He just hoped that they were going to get the Queen of Hearts home in time to get behind the natural barrier of that Kingdom. He should have made sure that the Queen of Hearts got home immediately, but no, the Clover King wouldn't allow it.

He rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**8th Day of the Curse**  
**Dinnertime**

"Your friends are so nice to come and bring us to visit Yuno," said Sister Lily. Asta was walking her, Father, and the kids through the Magic Knight Headquarters to the Infirmary. "It's so troubling to hear that Yuno got hit with a curse."

"But Yuno's super strong, Sister Lily," said Recca, holding onto Sister Lily's hand. "He'll be okay."

Asta had Hollo hanging off his back and held on to Aruru's hand. Nash refused anyone's hand but that's because he was a moody pre-teen. Asta was glad to see his makeshift family again, even if it was to convince Yuno stop being stubborn. Asta was also glad to be going to the infirmary now that Magna was there, along with Miss Fragil, Noelle's sister, and Miss Mackenzie. "Of course, I just thought it would cheer him up to see you guys!"

"Asta, you're so thoughtful," said Father, tearing up a bit. "You two have grown so much."

They reached the doors of the infirmary and he pushed through to the doors.

"Hey, Little Rasta, you brought all these cuties to come and visit me," called Magna, cheerfully.

"Hey, senpai! Glad you're feeling better," said Asta. He knew that the Queen of Hearts had been moved to a private room since she was leaving tomorrow protected by a squad of Magic Knights. Magna was in the bed that Queen of Hearts had been in, most likely so that Magna and Finral would be able to keep each other company. He spotted Miss Fragil in the bed that Captain Mereoleona had been in; Nebra, sleeping away, in the bed that Lady Finesse had been in; and Miss Mackenzie in the bed that Captain Charlotte had been in. "I'll come over in a minute after I talk to Yuno."

Magna grinned.

The group from Hage went to the bed Yuno was laying in, who sat up when they entered the room. Yuno glared at Asta for a minute but greeted them.

"Look who came to visit, Yuno," said Asta.

Sister Lily and Father Orsi immediately went to parenting Yuno by fussing. The kids, except Nash who stood awkwardly off to the side, climbed into the bed with Yuno to give him hugs. Asta smiled at the sight.

This was a good idea. If anything, it would _actually_ cheer up Yuno.

Once that was settled, he went over to talk to Finral and Magna. "Vanessa wanted me to tell you two not to die while she's gone."

"Will she be alright without us," asked Magna.

"I mean, Vanessa _cough_ _cough_ doesn't do co-op missions," said Finral.

Asta grinned. "Vanessa's super strong and she'll have Captain Nozel there and Levi, who's really good at defense, and Lady Sal, who's as scary as Captain Mereoleona. Oh and "Edward" will be going."

Magna and Finral didn't look convinced. Magna said, "Anyway, it was nice of you to get them here to visit Yuno."

"Yeah, I owe Gordon and Gauche now," said Asta, with a shrug.

"Well, it's still _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ nice," said Finral. "So, uh, how have you been _cough_ _cough_ handling _cough_ everything?"

"I'm fine," said Asta, brushing off the concern. He didn't want to worry either of them unnecessarily.

Magna and Finral traded looks, like they knew something that Asta didn't. Magna replied, "We're here, if you need to talk."

Asta grinned. "You guys are the best seniors."

"Yeah, of course, _cough_ we are," laughed Finral.

"Yes, yes, I know," said Magna, pleased.

Eventually, the Hage Village kids were tired, so Asta already arranged for them to stay the night in the Magic Knight Headquarters' guest rooms and then Asta already arranged for Langris (after a lot of pleading and needling and eventually he just agreed to shut Asta up) to transport them back quickly tomorrow after breakfast. Lady Solace helped show them to the rooms so Asta could quickly talk to Yuno again.

The infirmary was going quiet with many going to sleep early. Asta sat at the edge of Yuno's bed.

"That was _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ unlike you," said Yuno.

"What do you mean?"

"Whatever, Asta. _Cough_ _cough_ You can't change my mind. _Cough_ _cough_"

Asta didn't want to argue with the stubborn, handsome jerk, so he just scowled. "I won't be by until tomorrow evening since I'll be busy at the Coral Peacocks, since Levi leaving for the mission."

"Fine. It's fine, Asta, _cough_ _cough_ you don't have to come _cough_ every day."

"Shut up, of course, I do, you idiot."

Asta and Yuno stared at each other for a few minutes, when Yuno began coughing up more flowers. With a sigh, Asta fetched Yuno's bucket and patted his back.

While Yuno was heaving out flowers, Kirsch said, suddenly, "Oi! Asta, you had better not be messing up my file system in my office!"

"I am not, Kirsch! Geez!"

"I swear revenge if you mess up my office!"

"Alright, alright, Levi showed me everything. It's all working smoothly."

"Fine. We'll see."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**8th Day of the Curse**  
**Nighttime**

Zora originally stumbled home to the Black Bulls' hideout, only for Henry to slowly tell Zora of all the chaos happening. Being that Zora doesn't go on official missions (mostly, unless ordered by Captain Yami or the Wizard King), Zora was off rooting out corruption of the nobility and royalty classes. Occasionally, he needed to rest, so he returned to the Black Bulls' hideout to sleep for a week before he planned on going back out.

But instead of passing out to sleep for a week, he had to go back out to check on his dumbass squadmates. Henry told him he didn't _have_ to go, but Zora admittedly kind of cared about them. Mostly.

And if he wanted to also make sure that another person that will not be named was still breathing, so Zora will still have a chance to show up him again that was Zora's personal business.

"So you two didn't die," said Zora, entering the infirmary. Finral and Magna were still awake, playing cards. Finral looked like death warmed over, probably from the blood loss and the lack of oxygen. There were cherry blossom petals all over his bed. Magna looked like he got into a fight with an entire army. Zora shook his head as he plopped himself in the chair, and grabbed some fruits out of the basket that clearly had Charmy's handiwork all over it. "So, spitting out flowers, huh, Finral?"

"Nice _cough_ to see you too, Zora," said Finral. "Have you _cough_ made a menace of yourself _cough_ _cough_ to anyone recently?"

"Yes, always, and it was glorious," replied Zora, glibly. "And Magna, what the fuck man? Heard you ran into some Spade Kingdom goons?"

"Hey, I totally saved the day," said Magna, grinning.

"He totally did," called out someone from across the room.

"Thanks, Mackenzie," said Magna, giving her a thumbs up.

Zora scoffed. "Just wanted to make sure that you're both breathing is all. Dumbasses."

"Aw, you do _cough_ _cough_ have a heart," said Finral, teasingly. "Deep, deep down, _cough_ _cough_ under a ton of crap."

Magna chuckled. "You like us."

"No, I fucking hate you all, don't put gross words in my mouth, thank you very much," said Zora, glaring at them.

Finral and Magna traded looks and together said in sing-song tones, "You like us! Zora likes us!"

Zora said, "No." And then, Zora threw some stink bugs at their heads, causing them both to groan from the smell.

"Oh my God, I'm gonna die from the smell," Magna dramatically said.

"Uhhhh, it's almost _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ as bad as going into the _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ bathroom after Captain Yami," gagged Finral.

"OI! What are you doing to my patients, boy!?"

An elderly woman came over and used her magic to clear the area of the bad stinky bug smell, she was short and a little pudgy, kind of reminded Zora of Captain Charlotte with that glare. Finral and Magna immediately straightened out and laid in bed.

Zora raised an eyebrow at the woman. "Nothing."

Finral hissed, "Zora, don't piss her off that's _cough_ Lady Ruth, the former Captain of the Blue Rose Knights, and _cough_ _cough_ the head of the Roselei Noble House and our main doctor since Dr. Owen is leaving."

"Ah, I know who you are, boy-o," said Lady Ruth, still glaring but with a little smirk on her face. "You're Zara's boy."

Zora tensed, ready to spring to defense of his father, even if he had to fight an old noble woman. He saw Finral and Magna both shaking their heads. "Yeah, what of it?"

"You do good work," said Lady Ruth, surprising Zora immensely. "Back in my day, I used to have to break a lot of noses of stuck-up pricks who thought they were better than me because I was a woman. It's why I created the Blue Rose Knights, when I became a Grand Magic Knight Captain, to be a safe haven for the women wizards and witches. The fact that you're sticking up for the non-nobility and non-royalty and rooting out corrupt duckweeds, I can respect that."

Zora narrowed his eyes. "Oh, really?"

Then Lady Ruth's mana spiked, menacingly. "But that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want in my infirmary. No stink bugs while you're here or we will fight, boy-o."

Everyone in the room visible started to sweat, including Yuno and the sleeping Captain Dorothy.

"Got it," said Zora.

Pleased, Lady Ruth left their part of the infirmary and went back to the desk to review papers. Zora breathed a sigh of relief. Note to self, do not piss off the old lady doctor, Zora thought to himself.

"Oi, deal me in," said Zora, gesturing to the cards that Finral and Magna temporarily abandoned.

Magna grinned. "Awesome. And eat some of this food, me and Finral are stuffed. Charmy keeps us well-fed."

Zora nodded, as Magna dealt him a hand of cards. "We playing Go-Fish?"

"You know it. The Black Bulls' family game night game of choice," said Magna.

"It's the only game_ cough_ that doesn't result us breaking _cough_ out in fights, for the most _cough_ part," said Finral, shaking his head.

Zora snorted.

These dumbasses, he was not fond of them, not at all.

Ten minutes into the game, Lady Ruth was calling for Zora, the only one other than Lady Ruth in the room without injuries or a curse, to help him get Kirsch back into bed as the royal fell out in a heavy coughing fit.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**8th Day of the Curse**  
**Nighttime, 15 minutes ago**

Kirsch wanted so much to go back home to the Coral Peacocks. He was very much over the whole curse situation. He knew that without him or Captain Dorothy that his underlings would be stressing. Kirsch was also certain that between Asta and Levi (who was a damn disaster), his immaculately organized office was no longer so.

It was also irritating that there were people that were able to either get the person they love to return the feelings or able to overcome the feelings like adults. They got to leave and he didn't. Kirsch may have occupied his time needling everyone, because it was obvious who was in love with who to him, but Kirsch for the life of him had no clue who he had feelings for.

Kirsch didn't think himself in love. It would be something you would know, he reasoned, when he argued with Cousin Leo and the Black Bull Finral, who have taken to good-naturedly teasing him. How could he not know he was in love with someone?

There was no one that Kirsch had ever been interested in before—he had no time for romance.

Of course, he was beautiful and amazing, but he was serious about being a good Vice-Captain to Captain Dorothy, who took him in when no other squad wanted him because he was annoying and egotistical (their words, not his), and a mentor to his juniors in the Coral Peacocks. He was also trying to be better as a big brother to Mimosa. Honestly, Kirsch was disappointed that for the longest time she hated him because he was an asshole about poor people.

He, of course, thanks to Asta and others, saw that he was wrong about the commoners (but really he knew it the entire time, since there were quite a few commoners in his squad, he just ignored that fact when training them). It hard trying to be better, but ultimately, he knew it was worth to gain actual respect that was earned not given just because he was a royal.

It was especially hard when he realized that he mimicked his father's attitude to feel closer to him, because his father was always off flirting with women and had a fabulously amazing life as a famous poet. His father was not a bad man, but he was completely unaware and arrogant. He was certain of his greatness. To a young boy, Kirsch thought his father was the best.

Kirsch had resented his mother Nickole when he was younger, but as he got older, he realized that he idolized the wrong parent. His mother overworked herself as a Blue Rose 1st Class Senior Knight, stressed with missing her deceased older sister Acier, and ignored a husband who wasn't always faithful. She was a good mother, even if she was too serious and rarely smiled. She always cared in little ways—made sure that they had everything they needed, came home to take care of them when they were sick, and wrote them letters when she was away.

And sitting in this infirmary gave him too much time to think—he really needed to get out of here. He was going to go mad.

Kirsch sighed.

"Do you have to make so much noise? My goddamn head hurts" said Nebra, testily. She took over what was Finesse's bed, so they were nearby the other. She was laying down, still woozy from the blood loss and several blows to the head. She woke up a couple of hours ago. "Between the sighing and the running commentary, if you don't stop making noise or talking, I'm going to murder you."

"Aw, dear cousin, _cough_ you don't _cough_ mean that," said Kirsch, lightly.

"I will suffocate while you sleep."

"Alright, _cough_ mean," said Kirsch, knowing when to push any of his cousin and when not to. He did have a lot of volatile cousins (Mereoleona, Leopold, Noelle, Solid, Nebra, and Nozel). Fuegoleon was the only one that didn't blow up in anger. "I'm glad that you're _cough_ alright, though, Nebra."

"Shut up with those gross words, Kirsch," said Nebra, sounding pleased.

And then of course, everything got worse when the annoyance that was Zora Ideale stepped into the room.

Zora was there to visit Finral and Magna, of course, as they were squadmates and each other's found family. Kirsch felt his annoyance rising—why, he didn't know, because he really thought that he and Zora got over their antagonism. He didn't hate Zora. When Zora was forced to go on missions, Kirsch almost always got stuck on the same co-op team as Zora. They were able to work together well, even as a duo.

Kirsch almost thought they were enough to be called friends, or at least, acquaintances.

Why was he so annoyed?

He heard Magna and Finral tease Zora about liking them and that's when he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Kirsch," asked Nebra, concerned.

Kirsch coughed and coughed and coughed, letting red carnation petals and some buds free from his lungs. He tasted metallic, knowing that there was blood in his throat. He heaved. He tried to reach for the stupid bucket, but fell over and just kept coughing.

"Zora, get over here and help me get him back in bed," yelled Lady Ruth, who was suddenly at his side. Despite her power, she was still an old lady that shouldn't be picking grown young men.

"Damn royal, completely fucking useless," muttered the familiar voice of Zora, because Kirsch's eyes were filled with tears due to the pain and he couldn't see well.

Kirsch felt Zora pick him up easily and place him rather gently in the bed.

Kirsch was still coughing up carnation petals.

And then he realized.

He was in love with Zora Ideale. That was a thing. What was his life?

"Oi, Lady! He's turning blue, he can't breathe!"

"Shit. Kirsch, Kirsch! Focus, boy!"

All Kirsch saw was darkness.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**9th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Leopold had been worried when Fragil come into the infirmary injured, but she as taking everything well. Nebra had been the one that had been hurt the worst and Magna did all the fighting. It was nice to have her there, keeping his company and keeping his mind off of his situation.

"And the also had this amazing macaroons, Leo! When we both get out of here, I'll take you, my treat," said Fragil. She had been speaking of her new favorite bakery with the best pastries and baked treats. Leopold had a bit of a sweet tooth and Fragil always knew where to go for the best of everything.

"That's sounds _cough_ great, Fragil," said Leopold, eyeing the bandages on his friend's hands. "How're you _cough_ feeling since my mother used her _cough_ healing magic on you again?"

"Hmm, I feel loads better," said Fragil, smiling softly. She had a worried on look her face. "You ok, though?"

Leopold shrugged. He wasn't exactly alright, but after talking with his dad and having one of his long-time friends there, he was feeling better. But Yuno was still there, his flowers changed that morning to daffodil flower buds, and he was looking worse and worse. Leopold felt so bad for him. "I'll survive."

"Hmm," said Fragil. "I should call Captain Rill and see if he can bring some art and craft supplies for us."

Leopold grinned, weakly. "Might be something to do. _Cough_ _cough_ I think Finral and Magna spent the entire night last night playing _cough_ _cough_ Go-Fish with Zora and, somehow, _cough_ both lost 50 yul each to him."

Fragil giggled. "That is pretty funny. Arts and crafts are safe, no one will lose money." Then she whispered, "I'll ask him for straw-weaving supplies, if you want."

Nodding, Leopold replied, gratefully, "That'd _cough_ be nice." One of Leopold's secret hobbies to help him decompress at the end of a long day of training and missions as a Magic Knight was making baskets out of straw. The straw-weaving's monotony helped him calm down. It would be nice to do it again and not think about anything at all while doing so.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**9th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Dorothy opened her eyes in the waking world, for the first time in weeks. The first thing she noticed was that she was, in fact, in the infirmary. She had been using her dream magic to converse with Kirsch, her loyal Vice-Captain while he slept so Dorothy had an idea of what was going on with everything. The second thing she noticed was that her lungs and throat hurt. The third thing she noticed was Lady Ruth was at her bedside.

"Lady Ruth? _Cough_ _cough_"

"Ah, you're finally awake Dorothy. I was wondering if you were going to sleep the entire time," said Lady Ruth. Lady Ruth tested Dorothy's temperature with a firm, warm hand.

Dorothy, like Charlotte, started in the Blue Rose Knights. It was the only squad that would have Dorothy, being a witch from the Witches' Forest. The majority of female wizards or witches had use to start out in the Blue Rose Knights. Dorothy had been grateful to be given a chance to not only making a best friend (Charlotte), but meet a woman that she highly respected like Lady Ruth.

She was glad that poor Vanessa got taken in by Yami. Yami was always gathering up the outliers and the rejects. Had Vanessa done the Magic Knights exams and Dorothy had been given a chance, Dorothy would have picked her fellow witch in a heartbeat. Witches ought to stick together, especially witches trying to avoid the Witch Queen. As a young girl, Dorothy had a bad habit of dream-jumping and pissed the ancient witch off one too many times.

"William, she's awake," Lady Ruth said. "I'll be back over in a bit. Charmy from the Black Bulls has been leaving food for you. You've been eating while you sleep, of course."

"Thank you, _cough_ Lady Ruth," said Dorothy, cheerfully. She sat up. She noticed that Yuno was in the bed next to hers on one side and that Finral was on the other side. "Hello! Yuno and Finral, _cough_ I hope you aren't feeling _cough_ too bad!"

"Hello, Captain _cough_ Dorothy," said Finral. "Magna's here too."

Dorothy waved excitedly at the Mohawk fire-magic user as he was two beds away. She spotted Leopold, Fragil, and Mackenzie across from her and Kirsch and Nebra off to the side. Dorothy slept the majority of time because she was a dream-affinity witch, but when she woke up, she would be up for about a week without sleep. And when she was awake, Dorothy made the most of it, being happy to be with her fellow Magic Knights.

"I'm so glad you're awake, Dotty," said William, coming over from the desk full of books. "Here, drink some water."

She took the class offered by gentle William. She took a few sips. "Thank you, William. _Cough_ If you could, _cough_ would you tell me what I have missed? _Cough_ Kirsch told me some things in his dreams _cough_ _cough_ but he doesn't know everything."

"Of course, Dotty," said William. "But first, I would like to apologize that I haven't been a very good friend these last three years. I've been selfish and ignored you and many others who have cared for me over the years."

Dorothy blinked once. "William, _cough_ I have forgiven you ages ago. _Cough_ Certainly I was angry that you hid _cough_ _cough_ so much from me, but ultimately I understand. _Cough_ _cough_ You are always going to be my friend."

Smiling, William replied, "And if you need to talk about you-know-who, I'm here."

Dorothy smiled, though blushing a bit. "Thank you. _Cough_ Now, what's been happening? _Cough_ Don't leave anything out."

William launched into the story from all the back to Remembrance Day, while Dorothy ate from the gift baskets left by the half-dwarf and half-human young woman. It was very nice to get to talk to William again. She always thought that he didn't want to be her friend anymore since Patri was around, but she was glad to be wrong in this instance.

Once the masked former Captain of the Golden Dawn was done, Dorothy said, "Oh, I missed so much…_cough_ _cough_ I'm glad everyone's handling _cough_ _cough_ everything to the best of their ability. Now, William, will you _cough_ help me over to Kirsch, so I may _cough_ fuss over him?"

William chuckled. "Of course."

**Daffodil **  
_(Meaning) the sun is always shining when I'm with you_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**9th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

"So, the flowers changed again," said Asta, when he sat at the edge of Yuno's bed. Yuno didn't know what Asta kept coming here when there was nothing he could do. But he supposed it wouldn't be Asta, if Asta just gave up. "Daffodils, huh?"

"That's what _cough_ Lady Ruth said," said Yuno, softly. He was trying not to irritate his throat any further.

The air was tense between them, especially when Asta said, "I hope that person is worth all this."

Yuno straightened his posture and in a monotone voice asked, "What's that _cough_ supposed to mean?"

"It's just not like you to lay down and give up before you even gave it a chance," replied Asta, eyes glowing not unlike when he was ready for a challenge. "I don't understand why you won't let me help you."

"This isn't _cough_ _cough_ something you _cough_ _cough_ can fix," snapped Yuno.

Asta smiled sadly. "When did you stop telling me things? You won't talk to me about important things anymore. Aren't we rivals? Aren't we friends? Haven't we been each other's family since forever?"

"Of course we are, _cough_ Asta. _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ But I don't have _cough_ to tell you _cough_ everything, _cough_ you know," said Yuno. He knew he was being stubborn and contrary. Yuno had no right to burden Asta with the knowledge of Yuno's less-than-platonic feelings for the magic-less boy.

Asta sighed, irritated. "Yeah, I know, I know. Geez, Yuno, I am mad at you, but it's just because I'm so worried. I want you to be happy. And I want to face you for the chance to become Wizard King, our dream."

As Asta spoke, the flowers began to build up in Yuno's throat. It was suffocating and then he retched. Asta had been getting quite good at getting the bucket under Yuno's face, quickly. Asta stood up and moved so that he could pat Yuno's back and whispered words of comfort.

"There, easy, Yuno, let it all out."

Yuno wanted to cry, it hurt so bad. He didn't want to cry in the infirmary. He had not cried since that night in winter where he watched his best friend get beaten black and blue for him over a stupid pendant (which Yuno didn't even have anymore, because it was a stupid magic stone). Yuno was not going to start crying now, not in front of his fellow Magic Knights.

Once he was finished coughing this round of flowers out of his mouth, Asta wiped Yuno's mouth with a handkerchief from the pile at the small nightstand. And Yuno's face must have been in some way because Asta was immediately hugging Yuno and stroking his hair. Because Yuno was laying down in bed and Asta was standing up, it wasn't too awkward. "You're so stupid."

"Shut up," muttered Yuno, face pressed into Asta's chest.

"Yeah, yeah, you handsome jerk."

**Pink Roses **  
_(meaning) admiration and gentle emotions_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**10th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

The infirmary was quiet for once in the morning. Or at least, that's what Kirsch told her. With Finral out on a walk with Lady Finesse, Leopold in another room getting an examination, and the co-op team members sleeping off their injuries, the only sound was of Yuno's wind spirit Bell fussing over the young Captain. Dorothy was sitting on top of the bed on the other side of Kirsch's bed, snacking on breakfast slowly.

"…And now _cough_ Levi _cough_ is on a mission so I'm certain that Asta will have our squad in disarray by the time we get back," complained Kirsch.

Dorothy giggled. "I think you _cough_ underestimate young Asta _cough_ and the rest of our squad. They have _cough_ become quite self-sufficient, _cough_ thanks to you."

"No. I just have my way _cough_ of doing things. _Cough_ Asta's great in a fight, _cough_ but there's a lot of paperwork and menial tasks that bore him," said Kirsch, shrugging. Suddenly, Kirsch was pelted by grapes, courtesy of Yuno's wind magic. Yuno had great aim. "OW! Yuno, _cough_ what the hell?!"

Dorothy smiled as Yuno impassively stared down Kirsch. She said, "I don't think _cough_ Yuno likes you thinking that _cough_ Asta won't give it his all to do his job. You worry too much, _cough_ Kirsch."

"And you don't _cough_ worry enough, Captain," replied Kirsch.

Dorothy shrugged, smiling at her precious Vice-Captain. "Come on, eat up. _Cough_ Let's not waste dear _cough_ Charmy's food, okay?" Kirsch grumbled under his breath about his strict training diet and how he was going to get fat.

Dorothy and Charmy became good friends, after the elf war. The young hybrid girl was just the cutest and Dorothy saw Charmy as a younger sister. She knew that Charmy was serious about food.

She, herself, dug into the treats left for them. Dorothy was always ravenously hungry after hibernation. While she was able to eat when she was sleeping, it was always in small batches. And she never was able to enjoy the food while she was sleeping.

"Captain?"

"Yes, Kirsch _cough_," she replied, in between bites of food.

"Are you ok with _cough_ the whole flowers thing," he asked, concerned.

Kirsch had always been adept at observing other people, which made him a great Vice-Captain, with the ability to draw the best out of people and getting them to work together. She suspected that he knew who she loved. She replied, grinning, "You know who everyone else's flowers are for, _cough_ and yet, you are still in _cough_ denial over your own."

Her Vice-Captain flushed red and protested. "But…_cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ I am not!"

"Hmm, oh, if you say so. But really, Kirsch, I'll be fine. _Cough_ I know that my feelings won't be returned. He's happy with her. _Cough_ She's a good woman. They are good together. I know this. _Cough_ I really do," said Dorothy, smiling.

"Why didn't you _cough_ ever tell? Was it because you were a _cough_ witch and he a _cough_ royal," asked Kirsch, genuinely curious and not in a mean way.

Dorothy had been in love with Fuegoleon Vermillion for many years. He was a kind, fierce man with strong morals and very handsome to boot. Despite being a witch, he had always treated her with respect and kindness. He supported her and saw her strength. She always thought he was so cool. She deeply respected and admired him.

But Dorothy always knew.

And when Fuegoleon married Sal, Dorothy went to the wedding and congratulated them both. She made them matching hats as a wedding gift, too.

"I am a witch, but no, that's not why. I think I always knew somewhere in my heart that I would only ever be a friend," said Dorothy, smiling.

"Oh."

Moments passed and then Kirsch said, "You aren't coughing anymore, Captain."

Dorothy put her hand over her chest and breathed deeply. There was no pain and no flowers. She laughed and cheered loudly, jumping up and down on the bed.

"Have some dignity, Captain!"

"I beat the curse! I am so cool!"

"Oh my God, Captain, please _cough_ stop jumping on the bed, you are not a child!"

Dorothy was beyond happy, ignoring Kirsch's embarrassed pleas. Now, all she had to do was help Kirsch come to terms with his own feelings and overcome the curse. She needed her Vice-Captain back in top shape, so she could go back to sleep without worrying for her squad or the Kingdom.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**South Gate of Capital City**  
**10th Day of the Curse**  
**Departure of Team Save the Queen**  
**Evening**

Fuegoleon stood before his Magic Knights that were doing to the border of the Clover Kingdom and Heart Kingdom. The send-off had been delayed several days due to some arguing that had to be done with the Clover King and the Magic Parliament. But Fuegoleon and Nozel managed to talk them out of keeping the Queen of Hearts in their Kingdom.

They had set the Queen of Hearts up in a carriage that Nozel was moving with his magic. Dr. Owen was inside the carriage with the Queen monitoring her health, as it's getting worse as the days go by. Nozel, Vanessa, Levi, and Julius/Edward were all on their brooms, reading to slowly guide the Queen of Hearts home.

"I expect everyone back here after the mission is over and in one piece," said Fuegoleon to the team. There was only one member of the team missing.

Sal came flying out of the sky, at that moment. She never needed a broom due to her storm magic. "My storm trap magic is all set up for our cover."

Nozel said, "Alright. Let's move out. We have a long way to the Heart Kingdom."

"Take care all of you," said Fuegoleon, waving as the team began their ascent into the sky. He stood there until the carriage and the five Magic Knights were covered by stormy grey clouds. Sighing, he had to get back to Headquarters and see if Dorothy was ready to go back to active duty as Captain. He was going to need Asta soon for another matter.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**11th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"I'm gonna bring you loads of sweets, Leo," said Fragil, as she gave him a hug. She, Nebra, Magna and Mackenzie were all fully healed and they were released from the infirmary that day. Magna already left, especially since Luck came to bring Magna back to the Black Bulls' place for training. Mackenzie immediately sprinted out of the infirmary, worried about the state of the Azure Deer squad without her there to temper Rill's outlandish tendencies. Nebra left, too, but she was escorted home by Solid.

Fragil stayed a bit, but she just got a message from Mackenzie that Fragil was needed back at squad headquarters for a clean-up situation.

"Thanks, Fragil. _Cough_ _cough_ Appreciate it. _Cough_ _cough_ Have fun with a clean-up whatever that means," said Leopold.

Fragil made a face. "It just means that Captain and the other artists in the squad may have done something insane, like painting the entirety of Headquarters again or experimenting with exploding paint balls."

Leopold snickered. "Good luck. _Cough_"

"Thanks. I'll come visit soon." She, then, rushed out of the room. It sounded dire over at Azure Deer.

But if Leopold had anything to say about it, she wouldn't have to come and visit him anymore, because he was getting out of this infirmary today. There was only Finral, Kirsch and Yuno in there with him. Leopold was becoming stir-crazy and so he came to a decision last night when he couldn't sleeping for the second night in a row.

He was going to confess to Asta today when Asta came to visit Yuno (Asta was technically also visiting Finral, Leo and Kirsch too, but mostly it was for Yuno). His father was right. Asta would hear Leopold out. After all, he wasn't the only one to fall in love with Asta. Noelle and Mimosa both had been in love with Asta, only to be turned down rather gently by Asta. Noelle bounced back a bit quicker than Mimosa. Noelle enjoyed her spot as one of Asta's best friends. Mimosa was one of Asta's dear friends.

Leopold would still remain a rival and a friend to Asta. He had, at least, that to comfort him.

Eventually, Asta came strolling into the infirmary (relieved minding the Coral Peacocks). Leopold waited, because of the way that Asta did rounds in the infirmary when he visited. Asta went over to talk to Finral first to check on his senior. Then, Asta went to inform Kirsch of on-goings at the Coral Peacocks' squad.

"Hey, Leo. Feeling lonely now that Fragil is gone," asked Asta, grinning.

"A little _cough cough cough_," said Leopold.

"How're you feeling?"

"Haven't_ cough_ _cough_ slept in _cough_ _cough_ two days," said Leopold. "I'm getting a little _cough_ stir-crazy, sitting here all the time. _Cough_ Big Brother's too busy to stay for too long. And _cough_ Mother's got to watch everyone in the_ cough_ infirmary, not just me."

Asta nodded. "Sounds like you need some fresh air. I've got time now that I'm not minding a squad and not yet assigned to a mission. Hey, Lady Ruth! I'm stealing Leo for a bit."

"Fine, but you know the rules," replied Lady Ruth, waving them off.

Leopold grinned, as he slipped on his slippers and followed Asta out of the room. If he felt a dark stare at his back while he and Asta walked out of the infirmary that was Yuno's problem not Leo's.

"I know that it's stuffy in there because of the disinfectant but man, I can see why you're going nuts in there," said Asta, shaking his head. "I'm glad that almost everyone is better."

They finally reached the outside courtyard that Leopold just had a conversation with his father a few days ago about his feelings for Asta. Leopold's hands were sweaty, the flower petals in his throat burned and he hoped that he was not about to ruin his friendship with Asta.

"Hey, um, _cough_ _cough_ I have something to _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ tell you," said Leopold.

Asta nodded, turning serious. "Of course, Leo, you can tell me anything. We're friends, after all."

Leopold had to say it now or the flowers would multiply like crazy and he would pass out from a coughing fit before long.

He said, clearly and certain that this wouldn't be misinterpreted, "I am in love with you, Asta."

"Oh."

_Ch. End_


	4. Chapter 4

SPOILERS!

The manga is going strong, but nothing to report.

These chapter's tags:  
angst, canon typical violence, inappropriate tone shift, more suffocating, flowers were not hurt in the making of this fic

ENJOY!

* * *

**Bouvardia Double **  
_(Meaning) Zest for life_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights' Headquarters**  
**One of the Courtyards**  
**11th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning, Leo just confessed to Asta**

"Oh. Oh. _Oh._ _**Oh,**_ _**Oh,**_" was all Asta could managed to say while his mind was going a million miles a minute, panicking. Asta knew his face was bright red, he felt like he was on fire from embarrassment.

Leopold hadn't said anything more, but he was looking at him with a fond expression on his face but expectant eyes. This was worse than the time that Noelle confessed her feelings to him when they were sixteen (Noelle didn't talk to him for a month). It was even worse when Mimosa confessed to him when they were seventeen (Mimosa _cried_).

It was worse because Asta was the reason why Leopold was hit hard by the Unrequited Love Flower Curse and it sucked. Leo was a great guy. He was strong. He was one of few royals that recognized him as a rival in the beginning of Asta's Magic Knight career. Leo always was up for training or sparing. Leo was not only his rival, but Asta's friend, a reliable, steadfast friend.

It sucked that he was the reason why his friend was hurt. Asta hated that it happened, especially to someone as great as Leo.

"Leo, I," started Asta, but not having anything to say. Asta made a pained face. "Leo, I'm _so sorry._"

Leo's face fell for a moment, before he smiled, clearly hurt, but not surprised. "You don't have to apologize, Asta."

"Hmm, yeah, I do. Because I unintentionally hurt you. By you having feelings for me, you got stuck with this sucky curse," said Asta, earnestly. "I didn't even know."

"Well, I figured you didn't. You didn't even know that Noelle or Mimosa had feelings for you," said Leopold, pointing out Asta's natural obliviousness to people's love for him.

Asta was able to recognize people in love, certainly. Like he knew that Captain Charlotte loved Captain Yami. But for himself, Asta couldn't even fathom why someone would be in love with him. "You know, three members of the same extended family falling in love with me is strange."

Leopold let out a chuckle. "Yeah, I thought that too. But it's okay, Asta, really. I kind of knew I didn't have a chance."

"Well, I don't know if this helps, but I don't feel that way about anyone right now," said Asta, honestly. Asta was far too focused on becoming Wizard King and protecting the Kingdom and his friends/family.

Leopold gave him a funny look. "We're still friends?"

"Always," said Asta. He stuck out his hand for Leopold to shake. "We'll always be friends. I know that doesn't help now, but I really mean it."

Leopold smiled. "Yeah, I know you do. I mean, it's gonna be weird for a bit but I just need some time to process everything."

Asta nodded. He knew from past experiences with Noelle and Mimosa that only time would heal the hurt. "Don't worry. I'll give you space. When you're ready, you know how to find me."

"Thanks, Asta," said Leopold, gratefully.

Then, Asta noticed something important. "Hey, Leo? You're not coughing anymore! Are you cured?"

Leo patted his chest and then rubbed his throat. He let out a grin. "I'm cured!"

"Awesome, let's get you back so Lady Ruth can clear you," said Asta, bouncing up and down happy for his friend.

"Okay," said Leo, pleased that he was no longer coughing up flower petals. The two headed back inside, when Leo asked, "Hey, Asta? Are you at least a little bit happy?"

Asta blinked, trying to understand the question. "Yeah, I am a bit. Thanks for loving me."

Leopold cursed, laughing. "You suck so much Asta, you know that?"

"What did I say?"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**House Vermillion Homestead**  
**Foyer**  
**12th Day of the Curse**  
**Crack of Dawn**

Mereoleona herded the girls in the foyer of the Vermillion Homestead. She decided not to ambush her brother right away. Instead, she was going to get her mother on her side, meaning that her father would do what her mother wanted and then Fuegoleon would have no choice but go with Mereoleona's plan.

"I'm home," shouted at the top of her lungs, echoing around the quiet house. The royal servants weren't even up yet.

Immediately, she heard the footsteps. Her mother was running down the flight of stairs, launching herself at Mereoleona. Mereoleona caught her mother in a hug, forgetting for a moment that her mother was so small in comparison to her. Her father Aldebrand came down the stairs, less hurried than Solace.

"I'm so glad you're home, Mereo! Leo's healed! Oh, but some other stuff happened, but I'm sure that Fuego will tell you all about it," said Solace, cheerfully hugging Mereoleona.

Mereoleona smirked, but then realized that Blue, Hanima, and Sabriel were crowding themselves together, completely startled. "Shit. Ugh, so Mother, calm down for a moment. You're scaring the kids."

Solace blinked and let Mereoleona go. She finally noticed the three harried and unfed girls. "Are those magic sealing tattoos?"

"Yeah," said Mereoleona, wincing.

"What did you get yourself into now, daughter of mine," asked Aldebrand, arms crossed, and sighing.

"Well," started Mereoleona, when the Chief of Staff for their household came rushing from the servants' quarters, still dressed in her nightgown. She was rather frazzled when she just woke up, unlike her normal no-nonsense attitude during the day. "Ah, Miss Sharise, can you take the girls to the kitchen and fed them something, while I talk to my parents."

Miss Sharise was a middle-aged woman who worked for the Vermillion family for the majority of her life. She had started off as a cook in the kitchens, but worked her way up to Chief of Staff. She straightened immediately and went to business, no longer frazzled. "Lady Mereoleona, Lady Solace, Lord Aldebrand, I'll take the girls for some food. Should I prepare some tea and morning biscuits for you while you talk?"

"No, that won't be necessary, Sharise, dear. Just get the girls some food," said Lady Solace, waving her off. "We'll eat later when the cooks are up proper." Miss Sharise nodded and went to approach the girls.

"Oh, Miss Sharise, only Blue," said Mereoleona, pointing to the green-eyed, light vermillion-haired girl, "knows any Common, but you have to go slow. They are very wary."

"Understood," said Miss Sharise. The Chief of Staff slowly approached the cowering children. "Hello, dears. You can call me Miss Shari. You want food?" Blue translated something to her two friends. The three girls nodded. "Follow me, then." The three girls gave parting glances at Mereoleona, but nonetheless followed Miss Sharise towards the kitchens.

"Now," said Aldebrand. "Let's go sit in the waiting area and talk. You had better have a good explanation, Mereo."

Following her parents to the area where guests waited to be called upon by the Vermillion family members, they all sat down. "So, I'm adopting them and training them to become Magic Knights," said Mereoleona, coming out bluntly with her plan.

"Dear, you gave me no context, I see, we are winging, are we?"

"Oh," said Solace, clapping her hands together. "My first grandbabies. Al, dear, we must let Mereo adopt them. The girls looks like they need a home and a family. Oh, please, Al?"

Mereoleona smirked. Mother never asked their Father for much, but when she did, Father always caved.

After a moment, her father said, "God, the Vermillion Elders are not going to like this, at all. And I can just imagine that the Magic Parliament won't be pleased about them being foreign. They gave Julius such a hard time about Yami back then. But I won't turn these girls out if this is what you decided, Mereo. We had best get Fuego and Leo in on this and come up with a plan."

"Oh, thank you," said Solace, hugging her husband.

Mereoleona smirked. "I figured that you know the law quite well, Father, so you'd be the best one to get this adoption through, anyway."

"The things I do for you two, my favorite women in the world."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Wizard King's Office**  
**12th Day of the Curse**  
**Early Morning**

"And you agreed to this, Mother, Father?" Fuegoleon was staring at his family in front of him in the Wizard King's office. His parents were sitting down, while Leopold was pacing and Mereoleona was standing against the wall, smirking.

"Well, of course, we did," said his mother, incredulously. "Mereoleona knows what she's doing."

"Listen, son, don't fight it, "said Aldebrand, shaking his head. "I've already got my law assistants looking into adoption laws as we speak. Your mother wants them for grandchildren and if Mereoleona wants to adopt, I'm not going to stop her."

"But," started Fuegoleon.

"Come on, little brother, it's not so bad. Those girls need to be able to use their magic, it ain't right what happened them," said Mereoleona.

"I'm not saying that we shouldn't help them, but do you really want to adopt them, Mereo? Raising children isn't a game," said Fuegoleon.

"I know that, Fuegoleon," snapped Mereoleona. "What? You think I can't do it?"

"I never said that," said Fuegoleon, shaking his head. He didn't want to argue with his sister. "You are capable of anything. But I'm just saying that they need more than someone to train them, especially if they have been mistreated. Two of them can't even speak Common! Not only that, you can't train them until they are healthy enough. It'll be a lot of work, plus your duties as Captain."

"That's not a problem, Big Brother," said Leopold, still in stages of recovering after 11 days in the infirmary. "I'll help Big Sister with running the Crimson Lions, since I'll be Captain of it someday! And Mother and Father will help Mereoleona out with the parenting stuff. We'll be fine. It'll be nice to have some nieces. And even better no baby throw-up and missing sleep."

Fuegoleon sighed.

"See, littlest Brother knows what's up," said Mereoleona, grinning at Leopold. "As long as we work together, everything will be fine."

Fuegoleon smiled. "Yes, you're right. How silly of me."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**House Calmreich Homestead**  
**Finesse's Father's Study**  
**12th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"You need to speak to me, Father," asked Finesse, standing in front of her father's desk in his study. She was dressed in a cute new green flowered dress, ready to go and visit Finral in the infirmary. Finesse had been banished home to rest for several days by Lady Ruth and Lady Solace. But now, she was ready to back and take care of Finral, especially as there was only he, Captain Yuno and Vice-Captain Kirsch there.

"I've received some rather distressing news," said her father, Lord Calmreich. "Is it true that you've confessed your love for the disinherited and bastard son of the Vaude house, Finral?"

Finesse breathed in and out. She refused to be intimidated by her father. "Yes. I won't marry Lord Langris."

"Unacceptable," said Lord Calmreich. "Absolutely unacceptable, Finesse. You are going to marry Langris Vaude in a month. I don't care. You must be married by then. You're going too old for this kind of nonsense. I just thank God every day that your step-mother gave me a son to be my heir."

Finesse bit her lip. "Lord Langris doesn't want to marry me, either."

"Nonsense. You're royalty. He's mere nobility," said her father, dismissively. "I won't have you traipsing about the infirmary, doing menial labor either. You are not to see Finral Roulacase again."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"No. I am a grown woman. I will do what I want."

"Enough foolishness, Finesse. You are a royal woman. There's only one thing you're good for and that's to marry into a good family and give me a good name as a grandfather," he replied. "Gentlemen, come in. Take my daughter to her room, so she may think things over and come to a reasonable and right conclusion."

Suddenly, the room had five men entering, Finesse recognizing them as her father's strongmen. Two grabbed her and they dragged her out of the office. She fought every step, kicking, and biting and screaming profanities she learned recently.

"Let me go. I won't stand for this," said Finesse, near tears.

Then, they threw her in her room and locked her inside, because her father sometime between breakfast and now, had the door reversed so that the lock was on the outside of the room. She landed on the ground when they had thrown her.

And she cried out of pure frustration and hoped that her father would let her out, otherwise she was going to have to find a way to escape. It wasn't the first time he's done this to her either.

"Oh, Finral…I'm sorry…"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls' Hideout**  
**Outside Hideout**  
**12th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"Alright, alright, you numskulls, calm down," demanded Captain Yami. All of the Black Bulls, except Finral (still in the infirmary) and Vanessa (on a super important mission), were there for a squad meeting. They normally didn't do these formally but apparently there are missions that needed to be filled.

Zora had attempted to escape before he got wrapped up in the meeting, but Captain Yami grabbed him first. Now, he was waiting for the news that he was going to be put on some stupid mission when he would rather be doing his own thing. And maybe, he wanted to be researching curses along the way.

"Asta, Secre, you are to go see Fuegoleon this afternoon. He's got an important mission for you," said Yami, with a sigh. "Noelle, Magna, Luck, Gauche, you four are headed to Nean. They have a problem with bandits. Grey, Gordon, you two are going to stay with Henry and help him with the expansions of the hideout. Charmy, you're with me today and tomorrow. We got some stupid tasks to do. And Zora, you are to meet Mereoleona in the royal capital no later than this evening."

Gauche immediately began bleeding from his nose like a weirdo. Magna and Luck got pumped up for a mission by immediately sparing. Noelle sighed, shaking her head.

"Ugh, what does that crazy woman want from me," complained Zora. He respected Mereoleona as a Magic Knight, but she was bad for everyone's health.

"Oooh, since you are going there, drop this basket off for me for Finral, Yuno and Kirsch," said Charmy, shoving a large basket of food at Zora before he could think to protest.

"I'm not a delivery boy, Charmy!"

"Please and thank you, Zora," giggled Charmy. Then, she became deadly serious. "Tell those three that if they don't eat, I will know and my wrath will be swift and brutal." Zora rolled his eyes, and she somehow took that as agreement.

"Come on, Zora, you can come with me and Secre, since we three have to be in the capital," said Asta, cheerfully. Secre nodded, quietly.

Zora scoffed at Asta. He had been kind of worried for Asta, since his childhood friend got hit with the curse. Asta was a guy who had his heart on his sleeve, so everyone knew that Asta was distressed over the situation, despite his best efforts not to lose his spirit and hope. "Great."

He really needed to work on his sarcasm.

"Oh, before you all go! Once this curse shit is done, we're having a barbeque, where you all will show up," said Yami, loudly. "And Prickly Queen will be joining us!"

That was news, Zora thought amused to himself.

Captain Yami was so obvious.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Wizard King's Office**  
**12th Day of the Curse**  
**Just After Noon**

Asta sat, nervously as ever no matter how many times he had been invited in here, in a chair in front of the Wizard King's desk. Fuegoleon looked as calm and cool as ever. Asta could only hope to be as cool a guy as him. Asta also hoped that Leo hadn't told his brother what happened. But he doubted Fuegoleon would do anything to Asta, since Fuegoleon always let Leo fight his own fights, so to speak.

"Thank you coming, you two. Secre, how did you enjoy your first co-op mission," asked Fuegoleon.

"It went very well, sir, thank you," said Secre. Even though most of the time, Secre was attached to following Asta, everyone agreed that it would be better to help Secre feel more included, if she met new people and tried new things. Secre just went on her first cooperation mission recently, without a Black Bull on the team. Thankfully, it was only an intelligence gathering mission. "What can Asta and I do for you?"

"Right. So, as you know recently the team of Magna Swing, Nebra Silva, Mackenzie Ruford and Fragil Tormenta ran into trouble at the most recent appearance of a dungeon," said Fuegoleon. Asta and Secre both nodded. "I fear that it may have been a trap by the Spade Kingdom assassins they ran into there. However, there are no known magic users that can make a dungeon appear. It's very suspicious."

"Ah, you need us to investigate," said Secre, nodding along as Fuegoleon spoke.

Secre was so smart and cool, Asta thought. Investigations was not Asta's strongest suit. "Uhh, no offense, why am I going, sir?"

"To protect Secre, of course. Secre has deep knowledge of the eclectic magic and she is the best to investigate this particular situation," responded Fuegoleon.

"Oh, no problem, I can do that!"

"Of course. Also, Asta. Captain Dorothy told me that you are invited to her Sunday dinner parties anytime for taking such good care of her squad while she was out of commission," said Fuegoleon. "You did great work, Asta. I'm very proud of you."

Asta blushed. "Thank you so much, sir! It was interesting to see how other squads were managed. So, when do you need us to leave?"

"Tonight, please," said Fuegoleon. "If find anything, report it to the nearest outpost, but if you don't then return as soon as possible. I'm probably going to need you two again soon."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**12th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Finral was bored out of his mind. It was better when there was more people in the infirmary. Lady Ruth was on shift while Lady Solace was busy with her new grandchildren (that apparently Captain Mereoleona picked up in the neutral zone). Yuno did not talk much unless forced or provoked. What's worse was that Kirsch had gone into a depressive state and stopped yammering so much. He hadn't even called himself beautiful once today.

He was also worried because Finesse told him that she would visiting today, since she was rested, in the note she sent last night. But she hadn't arrived yet. He hoped that she hadn't taken ill again.

Sighing, he missed home. He was sure that his friends were all off on missions or having fun. "Ah, this sucks. _Cough_"

The door to the infirmary opened and in came Mimosa Vermillion, but she didn't move to go to Yuno or Kirsch. "Hey, _cough_ Mimosa!"

"Hi, Finral," said Mimosa, coming over to the bed. "I have this for you."

She handed him a small, burgundy book.

Confused, Finral asked, "Is this a copy of the _Littlest Prince_?" The Littlest Prince was a fairy tale based on a tale from the Royal Family from 300 years ago. Finral loved that book when he was a kid. He actually admired the main character, a lot, hoping to be free and go on adventures.

"Yeah," said Mimosa, smiling gently at him. "It's from the Vice-Captain."

Finral startled and stared at her. She was not the type to lie. She was like Noelle in that way, honest to a fault. "Really?"

"Yeah. He just said handed it to me before I left HQ and just said your name before walking away all broody," said Mimosa, rolling her eyes. "He does care about you, in his own way, I think. If you want, I'll drag him here by his ears so you two can finally talk."

Finral laughed, but also cried a little. "Thanks, but I _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ don't want to force him _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ to talk to me. Vanessa already offered the same, _cough_ _cough_ so did Charmy, _cough_ Noelle, and every one of my squad-mates. _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ Go and visit your captain and your brother, Mimosa. _Cough_ Thanks for delivering it."

Mimosa shook her head. "You two are so strange." She, however, did go over to talk to Yuno. Yuno looked a bit happier to see her. Finral was glad that Asta wasn't Yuno's only friend anymore. Secretly, Asta told Finral once that he was worried that Yuno hadn't been making any new friends in the Golden Dawn. Asta was thrilled when Mimosa and Yuno seemed to be close friends, same with Yuno and Klaus.

Shaking his head, he opened the book, gingerly. When was the last time he read this? Finral honestly couldn't believe that Langris even remembered that this was Finral's favorite book. Whenever Finral had tried to read to Langris back when they were much, much younger, Langris always didn't want to hear it.

Was this gift just because Langris pitied his weak, older brother? The petals came pouring out of his mouth the moment he thought the question.

"Damnit, Finral," said Lady Ruth, rushing over to him. She rubbed his back and used a calming spell. "I swear, you two just need to talk. You are torturing yourself like this, Finral."

"I'm fine."

Lady Ruth just gave him a hard look.

**Yellow Hyacinth **  
_(Meaning) Jealousy_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**12th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

Yuno was going to escape once Lady Ruth left for the evening and Lady Solace took this night shift. Bell was already making sure things were clear. He needed to get back to the Golden Dawn and get back to work. This was no time to be lying about in bed. Of course, he was dying and spitting up flowers everywhere, but he was not going to let it stop him from doing his job as a Magic Knight Captain.

"Don't even dare," said Asta, suddenly came rushing into the infirmary. He had the little Wind Spirit in his hands. Secre was following close behind Asta, as usual when they were together. Bell was biting Asta's hands and cursing at him, calling him stupid. Asta put Bell on Yuno's shoulder. Bell huffed. "You stay in this infirmary, you hear me?!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Yuno, blankly.

Asta glared at him. "If I come back from this mission and you escape to go back to work when you're sick, I will bring Sister Lily here to watch over you."

"…"

"Oh, okay, we're doing this," said Asta, completely petulant. "Lady Ruth!"

"What, kid?" Lady Ruth was at the desk, writing up reports.

"If Yuno is a bad patient, send someone to Hage Village in the Forsaken Realm to get Sister Lily. She'll be able to handle him while I'm gone," said Asta, arms crossed.

Yuno could not believe Asta was going to do this to him. Asta knew full well that Yuno would never, ever disobey Sister Lily.

"Oh, that's sounds like a good idea," said Lady Ruth, smirking. "Thanks for the info, kiddo."

Glaring at Asta, Yuno said, "You're leaving?"

"Mission," replied Asta. "Me and Secre will be gone for a bit."

"Just you two?"

"Yep, but we'll be fine," said Asta. "Please, please, think about the thing we talked about and I hope you'll be better by the time I get back."

"Whatever," Yuno, coughing into his hands. "Don't worry about me. Focus on your mission."

Asta gave Yuno a hard stare before placing his hand on top of Yuno's head. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Later," whispered Yuno. He batted Asta's hand away. "I'm a not kid."

"Coulda fooled me," said Asta, grinning. "But later, me and Secre got to go."

Asta and Secre left the infirmary to head out for their mission. Yuno felt a familiar feeling in his chest. This happened the last time the flowers changed. And this time when he vomiting flowers, they were yellow ones. Yuno couldn't even look Lady Ruth in the eyes when she came over to check on him.

Yuno really needed to get out here.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**13th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Dorothy entered the infirmary. Today was a good day. She was cured. Her little siblings at the Coral Peacocks were absolutely darling and kept everything running smoothly. But they all missed Kirsch. Dorothy was going to help Kirsch and get him cured.

"Hello, Finral, Yuno. You both look terrible today," she told them.

"Captain Dorothy," replied Yuno, with a nod of his head in greeted. He looked to be eating some food from one of Charmy's gift baskets.

"Captain Dorothy, it's _cough_ good to see you in good spirits," said Finral, coughing into his hand. Finral had a book in his lap. "Hopefully, _cough_ _cough_ _cough_, you'll be able to _cough_ do something about that guy." Finral pointed over to where Kirsch looked to be molded to the bed.

Dorothy shook her head. "I'll do my best!" She went over to the lump that was Kirsch. "Kirsch, time to get up! Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey!" She shook him. When he didn't move, Dorothy huffed. If this was how he was going to be, Dorothy ripped the covers off of him. She grabbed his arms and forced him to sit up.

"Nooo, Captain, _cough_ leave me to die, _cough_ beautifully, _cough_ here," said Kirsch, in the most pathetic tone ever. He slid himself back to lie down.

Dorothy scolded. "None of that nonsense, Kirsch!" She made him sit up again.

"Nooo," whined Kirsch.

"You are a grown man, Kirsch Vermillion, stop acting like a child. And your juniors are all very worried about you and miss you. You don't want to let them down do you as the Vice-Captain of the Coral Peacocks," said Dorothy. She pulled out from her purse an envelope. "For you."

Kirsch sighed, unhelpfully, but took the envelope from Dorothy's hands.

Dorothy had been surprised when it was Levi to have made a get-well-soon card and got everyone in the squad to sign it. Naturally, he had left it for Asta to give to Kirsch and Asta left it on Dorothy's desk in her office. She signed it herself and knew it was something that would cheer Kirsch up, if only a little.

She watched him read it—the kind messages from his juniors in the squads, who depended on Kirsch to be reliable and stable when Dorothy was being, well, herself.

Kirsch's eyes welled with tears, snot dripped out of his nose, the rims of his eyes grew red from trying not to cry and the irritation of the salty tears. Kirsch was always an ugly crier, even if he didn't know. "They love me! _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_" Kirsch cried.

Dorothy smiled. She patted her silly Vice-Captain on the head, to comfort him. "Of course, they do, Kirsch. Now, you and I are going to figure this out together. I won't sleep until we get you cured!" Kirsch kept crying.

Dorothy sensed another person entering the infirmary to find Zora Ideale strolling in, without a care in the world, holding a large basket. "Yo, more food from Charmy, you dumbasses." Dorothy also noted that he had a large welt on his forehead that only could mean that he had run into Mereoleona.

She watched Zora scan the room. Naturally, he checked on Finral first because they were both Black Bulls. Then, Zora observed Yuno for a moment, probably for Asta's sake.

"Damn, royal, you are an ugly crier," said Zora, rolling his eyes.

Dorothy winced because no one but Mimosa dared tell Kirsch that fact.

"I am not, Zora! _Cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ I'm beautiful in anything I do. You're mean!"

"Riiight…Anyway, Charmy says that you had better all eat up or she'll know and her wrath will be swift and brutal," said Zora, brushing off Kirsch's complaints, though Zora looked a bit worried at how much Kirsch had been coughing. "Later. Hope none of you die." He left the room.

Dorothy felt that Zora was a very strange person, but a good person nonetheless. She looked back at Kirsch to find him crying even more. And spitting up even more flowers, red carnations.

She blinked a couple of times. Dorothy knew for certain at this moment who Kirsch harbored feelings for, especially after her own experience with the curse, and she was very confused.

Kirsch and…Zora?! Who knew?

Dorothy had her work cut out for her. Either Kirsch had to realize that Zora was not interested or Zora had to find out so Kirsch could have a chance. Dorothy patted Kirsch's head some more, letting him cry. No wonder her poor Vice-Captain was crying!

How was she going to help him was the question of the day.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Common Realm**  
**Town of Nean**  
**13th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"Wow, that sounds rough, Noelle," said Rebecca. Noelle was talking with Rebecca. The older woman was busy sweeping outside of the restaurant in the town of Nean in the Common Realm, just so they could talk without Rebecca's boss scolding her. "Well, I hope your teammate gets better along with the others!"

Naturally, Noelle had to give Rebecca a run-down of events. After they first met, Noelle was a bit jealous because Rebecca liked Asta too, but what it came down to was that Noelle wanted more friends, so Noelle put her jealousy aside. Noelle stopped by every once in a while to visit, sometimes Asta and Gauche come with her to visit the kids and Rebecca.

"Thanks. Now, we're here to help you guys with the bandit situation," said Noelle, confidently. "Just leave it up to us."

Rebecca raised an eyebrow. Gauche immediately went to the orphanage and he was busy playing with Marie, despite Sister Teresa scolding him to do his job. Luck was attempting to pick fights everyone who looked strong. Magna was eating. "I, at least, feel safe when you're on the job, Noelle. Too bad Asta wasn't assigned to this mission."

Noelle snorted. "They're stupid, but they're reliable when push comes to shove. And I told you that Asta's not interested in girls like that, Rebecca. Give it up."

"Hey, I know, I know, but if he was here, I'd feel extra safe," said Rebecca, grinning.

Noelle laughed. "Yeah, that's true. So, what do you know about the bandits?"

"Not much really. They attack randomly, no set hour," said Rebecca, with a sigh and a shrug. "The town's men tried to fight them off when they come but they're too strong. They steal mostly anything that's not nailed down."

Frowning, Noelle thought to the recent reports in the upswing of banditry and thieving in the Forsaken and Common Realms, especially since there was no fear of the Eye of the Midnight Sun or any major attack coming from enemy kingdoms. There were no discerning patterns of traffic.

"Noelle's training to become the investigator Magic Knight for the Black Bulls squad," said Magna. Noelle was glad that Magna was finished with his food. Since he was recently hurt, she hadn't scolded him for taking a break to eat. She wanted to make sure that he was in top shape. He came over and slung his arm over Noelle's shoulder, and gave her a noogie. "She's becoming quite the detective!"

"Hey, watch it," said Noelle, half-heartedly complaining. She had long since gotten used to the casual affection of her Black Bull teammates. Now, only if she could get a hug from her big brother Nozel one of these days, she'd be set in happiness.

"That's so cool, Noelle. I'm sure you'll get it! You're super smart," said Rebecca, grinning.

Noelle shrugged, blushing lightly. "It's just a title. Technically, every squad is supposed to have specific roles filled, like investigator, but Captain Yami never got around to assigning them. Finral still doesn't know that he's the Vice-Captain."

Magna laughed. "And he's always so confused when he's stuck in the Vice-Captain meetings, too."

"Still that's awesome," said Rebecca, impressed.

Then, screaming started, someone yelling that it's the bandits and to get the Magic Knights-and the four members of the Black Bulls went into action immediately.

Between the four powerful affinity magics, three elemental and one that could enhance said attacks, the bandits stood no chance. Noelle knew that it was a show of power to send all four of them into the field since banditry was becoming a problem again.

"Let's get them," cheered Luck, electricity already sparking around him.

"Don't kill anyone," ordered Noelle, mostly to Gauche and Luck. "We can get information from them!"

They all raced to the where the screaming in Nean was the loudest to find a dozen men and women on horseback, harassing the townspeople.

"Hey, knock it off," yelled Magna. He and Luck rushed forward to rescue the civilians. Gauche rushed to start fighting the enemies.

Noelle raised an eyebrow. These bandits had average mana and they were all bunched together. Were they that stupid for criminals? She had a quick plan that would surely work. She opened her grimoire and shouted to give her teammates enough time to move. **"Water Magic: Neptune's Prison!"**

Water sprung from her grimoire powered by her mana, capturing all the enemies in one fell splash.

"Aww, man, Noelle, you really do make this battles a K-O these days," complained Luck.

"Well, let's wait until they pass out them, we tied them up and then interrogate them," said Noelle, flipping her hair. The mission was a success and no one got hurt.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Tea Room**  
**13th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"William, Patri, happy to have you here," said Dorothy, welcoming them into her Tea Room. After her morning of unsuccessfully attempting to get Kirsch to talk to her about his feelings for Zora, she retreated to the Coral Peacocks headquarters. William, along with Patri, sent a message that he'd like to visit. Of course having one of her best friends visit, Dorothy thought would be nice, so of course, she agreed.

"Thanks for having us. How have you been feeling since the curse went away," asked William, taking a sip of chai tea.

"Much better. I have a lot of energy that I need to expend before I got back to sleep, but I want to make sure that Kirsch is all cured before I do," said Dorothy, sighing. "He doesn't want my help. I know I can't force him, but he won't talk to his mother or father or Miss Mimosa about it."

William nodded. "I'm having the same issue with Yuno. He's being particularly stubborn."

"Humans," scoffed Patri. "It would be just easier if you all just admitted your feelings instead of hiding it."

"That's not how it's done in society, Patri. I've explained this," said William, gently.

"Well, also you don't want to burden someone else with your feelings, at least that's the way I felt, especially when you know it's not returned," said Dorothy, bluntly. "But Kirsch and Finral, especially have a chance to be cured simply if they talk to the person. Yuno, on the other hand, only has that option."

William sighed. "Yuno's a good Magic Knight. A good Captain. He'll make an excellent Wizard King someday. But he's not good with feelings."

"To be fair, none of us are," said Dorothy. She absentmindedly stirred some sugar into her tea. She picked up a macaroon before putting it down again. "I think most of us Magic Knights tend to be more focused on training and protecting the kingdom than whether or not we can maturely handed our interpersonal relationships outside of the battlefield. It's easy to get along with someone when you've faced life and death situations with them and fight alongside them, but it's another to actually communicate properly with the people you care about, you know?"

"True words, Dotty," said William.

Patri scoffed. "That's ridiculous. Where do your subordinates train? I'll go and check them out."

Dorothy smiled. "Be careful, my little ones can be clingy. They might adopt you, Patri."

"I'll take my chances, rather than you two fuss over Yuno and Kirsch," said Patri, rolling his eyes. The elf left the room, leaving William and Dorothy just staring after him.

"He's rather difficult, isn't it?"

William snorted, softly. "He's trying to understand us, but he thinks most humans are stupid."

Dorothy giggled. "Yeah, he's mostly right. Most humans are dumbasses. So, what should we do about Kirsch, Yuno and Finral?"

"Let's brainstorm," said William. "Oh! I almost forgot. Mereoleona's actually adopting the girls she found! It just went to the Vermillion House Council to be approved."

"Mereo being a mom, that's wild, but also makes sense that she just picked them up on one of her travels."

"She'll be a terrifyingly effective mother, I believe."

"Yeah! I'm going to have make some fancy hats for them," said Dorothy, cheerfully. "I can't wait to meet them."

"Should be interesting. We'll need someone with linguistic affinity magic, though."

"Even more fun!"

William shook his head, amused. It was nice to talk to him like normal again, now that he wasn't avoiding her. "So, those three in the infirmary…?"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**a forest somewhere**  
**14th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Vanessa wanted a drink. They were a few days from the drop-off point at the Heart-Clover Kingdom border. Team Save the Queen stopped to take a quick rest at Nozel's orders. Vanessa was tired. She normally had her Black Bulls team members there to let her slack off. She had no idea why she was chosen for this mission. Her combat worked best in combination with Asta and Finral. And while her fate magic was powerful, she had to be very careful how she used it.

"Man, I need a beer," complained Sal Vermillion, leaning against a nearby tree. The team had landed in a forest in the Forsaken Realm in order to having some cover if enemies were in the sky.

"Same," said Vanessa. The two women, one witch, one wizard, observed the rest of the team. Levi was actually the only one on guard, while Nozel and "Edward" (AKA Julius) argued about the direction. "Why is it that the men always argue about the directions?"

"A mystery," retorted Sal. "Your squadmates too, huh?"

"Yeah, all of them except Asta, who has no sense of direction," said Vanessa, sighing. She was annoyed. She should have figured out a way to opt out of the mission, especially since Finral was most assuredly still in the hospital, refusing to talk to Langris. Vanessa grumbled and stood up from her seat on top of the rock that she was resting upon. She charged over to Nozel and the former Wizard King in disguise and snatched the map out of Nozel's hand.

"Excuse you," started Nozel.

"Nah, excuse the both of you. I'm done hearing you two argue," said Vanessa, putting her foot down. She took a look at the map. She found what she was looking for and pointed, dragging her finger across the map to show the route they should take. "We take this path from now on. It's the shortest most direct route to where we need to go."

"But…" started "Edward."

Nozel frowned and said, despite sounding less than pleased that he was agreeing with her. "She's right, though. Even if we run into enemies, it's the shortest distance. We'll do that then."

Vanessa grinned.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Vice-Captain's Office**  
**15th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

If this had been three years before the elf war, Langris would have been pretty pleased to be in charge of the Golden Dawn. Now, three years ago, and one life-changing event lived through, Langris wanted Yuno to get better so he would have to do half of this paperwork. Some of it was absolutely mind-numbing. Maybe he should rethinking wanting to start his own Magic Knight squad as a Captain. He grumbled as he approved the new training schedule for their newest recruits.

Klaus was put permanently in-charge of acclimating new recruits, whether they be royal, noble or commoner, because of his efficiency and skill in acclimating Mimosa and Yuno three years ago. Still grumbling about stupid captains who won't confess his undying love for his childhood friend and stupid older brothers that's way too nice, he realized that he had forgotten to eat breakfast yet again when stomach growled. "Fuck."

Then, the door to his office bust open and Mimosa Vermillion came in the room like she owned it. To be frank, when Yuno became Captain, Langris almost thought he was going to be out of a job and replaced him with her as Yuno's Vice-Captain. She was like the unofficially Co-Vice-Captain—the one that Yuno actually liked. She was alright. "I brought you breakfast because I had a feeling you forgot again."

"Ah," replied Langris, as she came over and placed a plate of food on his desk. And the book he sent for his brother Finral. "Oh, he read it already?"

"Yeah, he said thanks," said Mimosa. She gave him a hard stare. "You should go and talk to him. Tell him that you love him."

"Not your business, Lady Mimosa," said Langris, eyebrow raised. "And besides, you're one to talk. Kirsch is still in the infirmary."

"But he's not spitting up flowers for me," said Mimosa, smartly. "That was naturally the first thing I asked him, if he felt that I didn't love him. He may be annoying and grossly egotistical, but he's still my big brother and I love the dumb idiot."

Langris opened his mouth respond and shut it, only to finally settle on saying, "Fair."

"Aren't you going to thank me for the food?"

"Thank you," he replied, quickly. "You don't have to keep bringing me food you know. I can fetch it myself."

"You'd starve if I didn't," said Mimosa, smiling, but sighing. She almost sounded fond of him. Langris tried not to look directly at Mimosa when she sounded like that and get his hopes up. "Oh, by the way, have you heard from Lady Finesse? She was supposed to visit Finral, but she hadn't been by in days. He's worried about her. Did you hear if she got ill again?"

Langris titled his head, confused. He never spoke to Lady Finesse, especially after she confronted him outside of the infirmary days ago. It was troubling because she was supposed to be looking after Finral with most of his teammates busy with missions and other Magic Knight tasks. "I have not. That's doesn't sound like her. She's a woman of her word."

Mimosa nodded. "I'm headed out on a mission myself in an hour, so thought you should know. Now eat, before it gets cold."

"Yes, ma'am."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Calmreich Homestead**  
**Foyer**  
**15th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Langris did not want to be there, sitting in the foyer of the Calmreich Homestead with his responsibilities of taking care of the Golden Dawn squad business, but it was for his brother. Mimosa's guilt-tripping speech earlier brought him here a few hours after he spoke with her. He was waiting for the servant to fetch Finesse for him or allow him to go to meet her somewhere in the house.

Despite being her fiancée, he had never called on her before at her house.

"I'm sorry, Lord Langris, but the Lady is indisposed at the moment," said the servant, nervously.

Langris glared. "Fine. Then, let me talk to her father."

"The Lord thought you might ask that," said the servant, growing more antsy and nervous. Langris still had a nasty glare.

The servant handed Langris a note. He opened it and read it.

'_**Young Lord Langris Vaude,**_

_**If you wish to call upon my daughter, you must talk to your parents concerning the betrothal.**_

_**Warmest regards, **_  
_**Lord Calmreich.'**_

Langris grunted and turned away. He stormed out of the Calmreich House. Something was off. He felt it in his gut. Finesse loved Finral. She wouldn't stop visiting him unless she wasn't able to do so. Honestly, he didn't want to talk to his parents since they were the ones that pushed him to be the way he was before, but something must be going on with the engagement. He had to get to the bottom of this situation.

He needed to visit his childhood house.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Vermillion Homestead**  
**The Children's Outside Play Area**  
**15th Day of the Curse**  
**Noon**

Leopold was on babysitting duty. Even though, Lady Ruth cleared him. His mother and his brother decided that Leopold was to take a couple of weeks to actually rest. It didn't meant that it bothered him that they left him with his new nieces. They were not officially his nieces yet, but his father was working on it.

Fuegoleon had too many responsibilities as Wizard King to babysit. Mereoleona was attempting to track down a magic tattoo or seal expert. She already "asked" Zora, but Zora thing was traps not undoing completely dark magic seals. His mother Lady Solace was busy in the infirmary since Lady Ruth had to go and handle a Roselei Noble House matter. And he wasn't exactly alone with the girls, as Miss Sharise and the other royal servants were mulling about in their duties.

Still, he wished that they liked him better. Blue was the only one that was able to speak a little Common and what she knew was very rude (which was kind of funny). Leopold had known a lot of rude people over the years, but she knew all the bad words and gestures and the basics of food. Hanima and Sabriel were wary of him. All three were off to the side by a magnolia tree, whispering in their language, giving him the stink eye.

It didn't help that he was trying to keep his mind off of his affirmed unrequited love. Leopold knew that he couldn't just shut down the feelings since he had them for a while, but he wished that it didn't hurt as much as it did. But he took to heart that he knew for certain how Asta felt about him. It may not be the way he wanted it, but at least, Asta cared about him.

"Leo," said Blue, suddenly standing right in front of him. She held her stomach. "Hangry."

"Sure, let's go," said Leopold, standing up. He held out his hand for her, but she didn't take it. He honestly didn't expect her to take his hand, but his parents told him to keep offering but also not to push.

Blue shouted at Sabriel and Hanima and the came bounding over to him. They followed him to the kitchens like ducklings would a mother and it was adorable.

In the kitchens, the long-time head chef of the Vermillion House was preparing for lunch (always promptly at 1pm) and dinner (always promptly at 6:30pm, where anywhere between three Vermillion to 30 Vermillion family members would show up. Any excess food was given to the servants or sent into town for the orphans). There in the kitchen, as always, was Chef Zasha, barking orders at the sous-chefs and the line cooks when she spotted him. The heavyset master chef gave Leopold a look.

"Lord Leopold, lunch is not ready yet," said Chef Zasha, sternly. There had been many times when Leopold snuck into the kitchens to pilfer snacks.

"Ah, but my nieces need snacks," said Leopold.

Chef Zasha came over and whapped him lightly on the head. "Children need order and structure. You can't feed them willy-nilly whenever they want. They'll develop poor eating habits and be unhealthy!"

"Chef! Just give the girls some cookies," yelled Miss Sharise, popping her head into the kitchen, as she was prone to do as the Chief of Staff of the household. She was always running about, checking on this and that. Miss Sharise was the best.

"Fine, but don't come crying to me if they get sick," sniffed the Chef. She handed each of the girls' two cookies. "Lunch in the sunroom at 1pm, Lord Leopold. Bring them."

Leopold smiled when the girls devoured the cookies. Once they were better and suited to going out in public, he would badger Fragil to help him take them to the best sweet shops in the royal capital. Being an uncle was going to be so fun.

"Leo," Blue said, holding her throat, big green eyes boring into Leopold's soul. "'fwistry."

"Ah, milk," said Leopold, going to the cold box and fetching the fresh milk. One of the sous-chefs helpfully provided three cups, so Leopold was able to pour them glasses of milk. "Drink up!"

"You look like you're pleased with this turn of events, Cousin Leo," said a familiar voice. Leopold looked at the other entrance to the kitchen to find one of his second cousins (from the Vermillion side of his family). His dad's cousin's only daughter (she was the youngest, with five older brothers) was only a couple of weeks older than Leopold.

"Astride! You're back," said Leopold, bounding over to give his cousin a hug. Astride Vermillion, like many Vermillion, was a fire-affinity user. Like all Vermillion blood family members, she had orange-vermillion hair and she had blue eyes.

She was in the small, yet, forceful Clover Kingdom's Royal Magic Navy as a Captain. Technically, it was under the command of the Wizard King and the members of the naval forces were Magic Knights, but the Navy tended to act like they were separate from the Magic Knight squads. A Navy Captain, however, was not a Grand Magic Knight like the Captain of the Magic Knight squads. A Navy Captain was equivalent to either 1st or2nd or 3rd Senior Magic Knights.

Wildly grinning, she ruffled Leo's hair (as she was taller than him). "Glad to be home for a bit! Heard that Mereo was adopting some ragamuffins and want to see them for myself! Also heard that you got hit with a curse. Cousin Kirsch is still in the infirmary too."

"Out of my kitchen, Lady Astride, Lord Leopold, this is not a meeting area," scolded Chef Zasha at the two 20-year-old royals.

Leopold rolled his eyes. "Blue, Sabriel, Hanima, let's go." The girls all understood his hand motion and scurried to follow him. And he definitely knew that they each got another cookie from one of the sous-chefs. "Man, Astride. It's really a long story to tell…you got the time?"

The five walked outside back to the play area. The girls sped off to their own devices, talking excitedly about something in their language.

"For you, cousin, I got all the time in the world."

He smiled at his cousin, but then, Leopold spotted out of the corner of his eye, the girls attempting to sneak off. "Oi, Girls, stay where I can see you! I know you understand that, Blue!" The girls bolted into the mazelike backyard of the Vermillion Homestead. Leo and Astride traded looks. The Navy Captain and the Magic Knight bolted after them. If Leo lost the girls the first time he babysat, he'd be killed by Mereoleona, only to be revived by his mother and murdered again.

"Now I kind of feel bad we did this to Big Bro Ben and Cousin Fuego back then," laughed Astride, while running.

Leopold grinned, starting to laugh too. It was the first time in days that he actually laughed. It felt nice to laugh. "Man, Big Brother and Cousin Ben used to get so mad at us!"

"Come on, let's not lose the girls! Man, they are Vermillion already!"

"Right?"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Dungeon at the eastern edge near the border of Clover and Diamond**  
**16th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

It took Asta and Secre a while to get to the very core of the dungeon. Since Magna and his team had been ambushed at the entrance, all traps and fail-safes were still active. Thankfully, between Asta's anti-magic swords and Secre's knowledge and both their quick-thinking, they managed. Honestly, Asta was just so happy to be out in the field. Of course, his work as temporary captain of the Coral Peacocks and being the captain of the Royal Knights in an emergency were great, but just going out and being a Magic Knight was thrilling.

Most dungeons appeared for one reason or another—usually bringing up jewels, gold, old grimoires or magic items from past civilizations. Each dungeon had a core where it told someone how it activated or why. There was a lot of untapped natural magical energy in the world, but also a lot of mana-users doing a lot of different stuff with magic.

Asta did not understand it much, however and left the hard-thinking stuff to the smarter people. He knew that he wasn't bright when it came to scholarly things. It was one of his weak points.

Secre was reading some weird writing on some stone tablet. Her eyes were narrowed in concentration, so Asta tried not to make too much noise. He didn't want to distract her.

"Um, Asta," said Secre, peering up at him. "This was a man-made dungeon."

"What? How?"

"I'm not talking like men made the dungeon, more like someone forced this dungeon to appear, because Asta, this place is…"

_**CRACK**_

The ground started rumbling and shaking, like it was an earthquake. Asta grabbed Secre and pulled her to him. "Hold tight, Secre!"

"ASTA! We have to get out of here!"

Asta had the bigger sword over their heads, shielding them from debris. Asta looked to where their exit had been (the way they came) and it was blocked by a large chunk of stone. He was going to have to cut his way out of this mess. Mouth in a thin line, Asta shouted, "GET READY!"

_**CRACK**_ _**CRACK**_ _**CRACK**_

Asta did not like the sound of that as smoke came pouring in from the split ground, along with some sort of magma.

"Sonovabitch."

"Secre! Who taught you to curse?!"

"Not the time!"

No, it really wasn't the time. They were in some serious trouble.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**The Town of Horst**  
**16th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Zora had to remind himself not to strangle his fellow Magic Knights because he was the team leader and because they had a mission to do, much to Zora's displeasure. He got the worst teammates in all of the damn Magic Knights. Sol Marron of the Blue Rose Knights was passable enough in battle, but her immediate distrust of most men made her difficult to offer advice. Clarity Esmond of the Azure Deer was a complete airhead. It might have been mean of him to say it out loud, to her face, but she was. Or at least, she seemed to be on the same level of airhead-ness as her Captain, a weird kind airheadness with competency in magic.

And there was goddamn Solid Silva. Despite Zora trying his very best not to punch the smug asshole in the face (for Noelle's sake, only), Zora definitely threw about 30 stink bugs at the annoying royal.

The team of four were in the Town of Horst in the Forsaken Realm. It was just as bad as the hovel that Zora grew up in—backwater in all the wrong ways, one main street, poor, dirty, hungry people walked the street, no work, and little magic ability. It was why they were called there. Apparently, there was a ghost.

In a world of wizards, magic, elves, elemental spirits and devils, ghosts did exist. Of course, they existed, since people had souls and if they weren't reincarnated or going onto the beyond (if there was one), ghosts appeared. However, most ghosts were sad, lonely, and somewhat mischievous. In all of Zora's experiences handling haunted places, the ghosts were easy to quell.

When they arrived in the town, Zora sensed no ghost. Ghost had a vaguely cold lingering mana, some stronger than others, but there was definitely no ghost. Someone was playing a bad prank. It was hard to fake a real haunting. The fact was that the town priest kept appearing and badgering them while they "investigated."

In actuality, Zora already decided they were going to wait twenty minutes then tell them that the problem was solved so they could leave. Zora had better things to do. While he didn't mind helping out the poor, common folk, there were plenty of corrupt royals and nobles and merchants that needed to be taken down. That was Zora's self-imposed job. In addition, there were some libraries in some rather uncouth places that he wanted to check out just to see if you could find something to reverse long-lasting curses like the Unrequited Love Flower Curse. He'd rather be doing that than this job. He was not a comforting person. Zora couldn't do much of it.

But the priest showing up, they actually had to look like they were working. Sol and Clarity, at least, understood what Zora said, but Solid was just standing, complaining about the common mud on his shoes.

Reminding himself that murder was wrong and that Noelle would be sad if her douchebag brother died, Zora sighed. "Priest, let us do our job in peace. We'll handle it."

"Ahh, sorry, sorry, I'll leave you alone," the priest cried, fleeing.

"So, what do you think, Zora," asked Sol, arms crossed. "No ghost?"

Zora narrowed his eyes, staring at the small cemetery. "Nah, it's a bunch of kids doing a prank."

"Are you sure? We had better do this job right or I'm blaming you, Ideale," sneered Solid.

"Asshole, thank Noelle the next time you see her, because right now, she's the only reason why you still have goddamn teeth," snapped Zora. It looked like his patience was gone. He was done with this shit. He walked through the cemetery (where the supposed haunting took place) and placed magic circles as he walked. They were small and simple traps.

And finally, his idea worked because one of his traps activated the magic circle he suspected was nearby. Someone had a mist-affinity magic, a magic that could make it seem like there was a ghost. He found the paper glued to a stone with a magic circle.

"Knew it," said Zora, to himself. He went over and handed it to Sol. "Here. Find who is a mist-affinity user. I'm out. You can tell the Wizard King if he has a problem, he can come and find me himself. I got better things to do. Take all the credit for all I care." Sol stood there stunned. Clarity was still staring off into space.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?!"

Zora merely flipped off Solid Silva and used his magic to make himself disappear from the town to a mile down the road.

"Back to work," he muttered to himself.

His main concern was the libraries in the terrible places. They might have some answers that would help the three left in the infirmary and maybe even help out Mereoleona's brats with those tattoo seals blocking their magic.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Silver Eagles' Headquarters**  
**Vice-Captain's Office**  
**16th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

Nebra rushed through the corridors of the Silver Eagles' Headquarters and reached the Vice-Captain's office. She slammed the door open to find the Vice-Captain of the Silver Eagles. The Vice-Captain was Nebra's best frenemy Vivian Shipley (black hair and purple eyes) at her desk doing a pile of paperwork, since Nebra's older brother and Captain of the Silver Eagles was on a special mission. Vivian was one of the few commoners that had been accepted into the Silver Eagles by Nozel, prior to his change of heart after the elf war.

Vivian glared at Nebra.

"Oi, you were supposed to be an hour ago, Nebra!? You had better not think about running off! Captain specifically told you that you were going to help me," scolded Vivian.

Nebra waved her off. "Don't worry about that now! Mereoleona's coming for you!"

Vivian jumped up and paled. "What?! What did I do to Captain Mereoleona?! I'm gonna die, no. Nebra, hide me."

"Yeah, it's too late," said Nebra, wincing. She didn't run fast enough to outrun her second cousin. Mereoleona was a force of nature. With that, Mereoleona came sauntering into the room, her fire magic forming a hand and grabbing both Vivian and Nebra by the heads.

"You the blood witch I heard about, Vice-Captain Shipley," asked Mereoleona. Nebra winced.

Vivian growled. "I'm not a fucking witch. I'm a wizard. I was born in the Common Realm, thank you very much!" Nebra winced. One of Viv's peeves was being called a witch, just because of her type of magic. It's why she and Nebra started off on the wrong foot back when they were 15 and just joined the Magic Knights.

"Whatever," said Mereoleona, dismissively, not to be mean but because she was in a hurry. "You know seals and tattoos, right?"

Vivian replied, "Well, yeah. But I don't know everything, so I'll need a few others to help me. This about the girls you took in, the tattoos sealing their magic right?" Nebra had to give Viv credit for remaining calm enough to hold a conversation with Mereoleona while a hand of fire was attached to her head.

"Exactly," said Mereoleona, nodding. "I know you're busy with running the Silver Eagles while Nozel is gone, and Fuego would be annoying if I interrupted you, but can you stop by the Vermillion Homestead in a few days? Nebra can take you."

"Yeah, I'll schedule a time for it," said Vivian. "I can, at least, take a look at it and see where we go from there."

Thankfully, Mereoleona looked pleased. She grinned, wolfishly. "Excellent." Just as she appeared, she dropped Vivian and Nebra from her clutches and left.

After a minute, both Nebra and Vivian collapsed on the office floor, sighing in relief. "Oh, God! She's scary as all hell. I think I almost had a heart-attack." Vivian held her heart.

"I know," said Nebra, cried.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**the southwestern edge, the border between the Clover Kingdom and the Heart Kingdom**  
**17th Day of the Curse**  
**Midnight, Rainy**

Natural rain was worse than magically-produced rain. It was actually a fascinating phenomenon that Julius had really wanted to investigate more closely. Sal, however, hated when he tried to study her magic like an experiment. It was why he liked her and brought her with him when he became the Wizard King years ago. Natural rain had a certain smell about it, as did magically-produced rain.

But, he needed to worry about the differences between the two rains at another time because they were finally nearing the border of the Heart Kingdom, after nearly a week of travel. Julius was worried. All this time, they hadn't run into any enemies. It too easy and Julius knew from years of experience that when something was too easy, that it was too good to be true. Nothing worthwhile was easy.

Julius looked back briefly at the carriage moved along by Nozel's magic to the Queen of Hearts inside, being monitored by Owen. He had been so excited that Ophie, as he called her, was visiting for Remembrance Day! Even though he couldn't talk to his old friend because he was a new person as Edward Kairos, it was still good to see her. The last time they talked was when he visited her after she had her only son, the Crown Prince of the Heart Kingdom.

When she collapsed on stage, Julius knew did not know what to think. He was worried for sure. She was his age, though he had the benefit of magic backfiring and turning himself into a 13-year-old again (he was now in the body of a 16-year-old and it was glorious to be young and spry again). There were any number of possibilities—from a heart-attack to a stroke.

And then, he found out about the curse just like everyone else, he was worried. Ophie was married to the current Clover King's younger (by only a year) brother, but it was not a marriage of love. Ophie was the older one by eight years in that relationship, if you even could call it that, but she needed an heir and the Clover Kingdom needed an ally against the Spade and the Diamond Kingdoms.

He felt bad for her, but it was the duty of royalty to provide stability to the masses.

Julius hadn't even known she even was in love with anyone.

"Edward, Captain Nozel, Vanessa, Sal, we have enemies, incoming on our three," called Levi, activating his barrier magic to protect the Queen. Julius noted the enemies. It must be the Spade Kingdom assassins. He was miffed that she hadn't told him about her trouble with the Spade Kingdom back when he was the Wizard King, but he supposed he understood that it was an internal matter.

Instead of five assassins, there were forty.

"Edward," called Nozel, nodding at him. "Take the Queen and get her home."

Thankfully prior to the beginning of the mission, he told Nozel that he and Ophie came up with a special seal so that Julius was able to enter the Heart Kingdom's natural barrier as though he was a citizen of the Heart Kingdom. He checked that the seal was still active even in this younger form. In a worst case scenario, he would get Ophie to safety as that was the mission. Julius was confident in the abilities of his Magic Knights, especially as much as they had grown over three years.

"Understood," said Julius, flying backward to the carriage. Levi picked up Ophie and passed her to Julius. Once Ophie was secured, he told her. "Hold on tight, Your Highness. We are making a break for it." He smiled at her reassuringly.

"Wait! You'll get hurt, you won't be able…"

And, then Julius used his magic to speed himself and her on the broom (also cutting her off mid-sentence) through the encircling crowd of enemy wizards straight towards the Heart Kingdom's border. The team would be fine. He had to protect Ophie first and foremost.

From the sky, you were able to tell the difference between Heart and Clover. There was a sense from the Heart Kingdom's encircling forest that meant danger. It was a fun kingdom. Julius used to joke that he was going to retire with a bookshop there just to spend his old age bugging Ophie. There was an overwhelming sense of guilt that filled his heart. He hated lying to her. She was his oldest friend, a kindred spirit.

Julius swerved when elemental and weapon attacks came for them, thankfully the others were on point, covering his back.

"HURRY," screamed Yami's dear Vanessa. It looked like she was changing the fate for them, as Julius burst through the barrier and accidentally landed into the forest that surrounded the Heart Kingdom, Tulgey Woods, home to mysterious and deadly magical creatures, whose collective mana made the protective natural barrier in the first place.

Safe within the protective barrier of the Heart Kingdom, they crashed unceremoniously on the forest floor. Julius was knocked for a loop for a bit, shaking his head, when he felt a sharp smack.

"You're fucking _cough_ alive, Julius!? Are you fucking _cough_ kidding me right _cough_ now?!"

Focusing himself as they were somewhere dangerous still many miles away from the Heart Kingdom's capital, Julius winced at her slap. Ophie was not a stupid woman. He knew there was a high chance that she would figure out it was him. "Ophie, my dear friend, we can talk later, but really, now is not the time. We have to get to the town outside of these woods so you can call reinforcements."

Ophie coughed up some more black rose petals, looking more and more contrite. "We are so going to have a good long, _cough_ Julius Novachrono and you had better not leave anything out when we do."

"I promise, but now we have a ways to walk and the forest won't allow for broom use," said Julius.

"You don't have to _cough_ remind me. I own these woods," she replied, scoffing. "What about the others?"

Julius smiled. "Don't worry, I believe in them. My Magic Knights are stronger than you know."

Nodding, she unsteadily stood up. Then, in an unamused and very serious tone, she said, "I'm 45 and _cough_ dying of a curse, _cough_ come and be my crutch, somehow-16-years-old-and-not-dead _old friend._"

Julius winced. She was not going to this go and he was never going to hear the end of it.

"Ophie, don't be difficult."

"Bite me, asshole."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**the southwestern edge, the border between the Clover Kingdom and the Heart Kingdom**  
**17th Day of the Curse**  
**Still Midnight, Rainy**  
**the moment that "Edward" disappeared safely with The Queen of Hearts into the natural magical barrier of the Heart Kingdom**

Nozel let out a huge sigh, knowing that Julius got the Queen of Hearts to safety. But that was now not their problem. Julius had to get the Queen to her capital in one piece, just in case, while Nozel and the rest of the team dealt with the Spade Kingdom assassins. The Silva heir scanned the battlefield for his team.

Sal was zipping around the sky fighting ten airborne assassins. Levi was also on his broom, using his barrier magic as a battering ram.

Nozel and Vanessa were fighting on the ground. Vanessa was covering Dr. Owen, who was a doctor and not a fighter so he was at a disadvantage. Nozel was covering Vanessa.

"There's too many of them," called out Levi, from above, trying to be loud over the chaos. "More are on the way and the ones we keep knocking come back stronger!"

Nozel noticed. No matter how many he thought he knocked out, the assassins just kept getting up. Their combined mana strength was monstrous.

"This reminds me of the elves," yelled Vanessa.

She was right. It did remind him that horrible, horrible day where he almost lost all three of his siblings.

"OI, IS THE QUEEN SAFE?!" Sal was yelling like a banshee over the rain and thunder.

"YES," called Nozel.

"Edward will be fine, we need to retreat, we can't beat them with just us," yelled Sal again.

Nozel bit his lip. He looked at the forty enemies, who just getting reinforcements now and the ones they knocked out, where coming back full-force.

"They're eating something," said Vanessa, hefting Dr. Owen off the ground. "Levi, take the doc!" Levi flew, maneuvering through to lift the doctor on his broom, Sal covering his back with lightning bolts and heavy winds. Vanessa moved her hand and materialized her own broom. "It's some magic-enhancing thing! We can't win without our own reinforcements."

Nozel nodded and yelled, "RETREAT!"

Then he felt something prick his neck and his vision wavered and he almost tripped over his own two feet. Then everything went dark, not before he heard Vanessa calling out his name in panic.

_Ch. End_


	5. Chapter 5

SPOILERS FOR LATEST CHAPTERS!

Well, here's another monster 16k chapter.

Enjoy it! Cry over it. Scream at me in the comments.

Warnings: Suffocation, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, War, Prisoners of War (if these are sensitive to you don't read it)

* * *

**Black Roses**  
_(Meaning) Death_

**Heart Kingdom**  
**Heart Capital City**  
**The Red Palace**  
**Private Apartment of the Queen of Hearts**  
**17th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Julius sat on the couch in Ophie's room while she rested on her bed. She was still coughing up the black rose petals, but she looked much more alive than she did in the Clover Kingdom. It must be the natural magical energy of the Heart Kingdom, Julius mused to himself. They had returned to the Red Palace, home to the royals of the Heart Kingdom for generations, a couple of hours after they landed in Tulgey Woods. After much fuss from the Royal Guards and the Queen's Council, she was sent to rest.

Naturally, she dragged Julius along with her as her honored guest "for saving her life", but only because he knew that she wanted an explanation.

"So, are _cough_ you going to tell me what _cough_ _cough_ the hell is going on, Julius," Ophie asked, arms crossed and a glare in her eyes.

Julius put his hands up, defensively. "Ophie, I never meant to lie to you or hurt you. It was a necessary deception."

Ophie scowled. "Alright, _cough_ start at the beginning."

"There's nothing really to tell. You know we had trouble with the Eye of the Midnight Sun and the magic stones. Well, when Patri, who we all thought was Licht at the time, took over William's body, attacked the Capital, I had to stop him from killing everyone. The battle took a lot out of me," explained Julius. "By all accounts, I should have died. But the amount of magic that I used did something weird to me, by turning me into a 13-year-old again."

Ophie hummed, indicating that she was listening.

"After that, the Magic Knight Captains and I decided that it would be best to hide me from everyone else, including the Magic Parliament, as I was significantly weakened, so we faked my death. Only select Magic Knights know I'm still alive and live as Edward Kairos of the Purple Orcas," he finished telling her.

Ophie let out a huge sigh. "I suspected as much. _cough_ _cough_ The moment I realized it was you, which I was stupid _cough_ and should have realized it sooner, because you look the same as you did when we were young, _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ I figured it was something to protect Clover. _cough_ I was just hurt, because we've known _cough_ _cough_ each other forever. But I get it. We both have our responsibilities."

Julius made a pained face. "I am truly sorry, Ophie. I wanted to tell you but couldn't risk it. But now you know, so you won't say anything right?"

"Don't worry," said Ophie, grinning, "_Edward_, your secret is _cough_ safe with me."

Julius smiled. "I knew I could count on you."

Ophie suddenly heaved and more flowers came spilling out of her mouth. Julius jumped up from sitting to rush to grab the waste bin to stick in under Ophie's face. He patted her back and winced. She coughed some more and cried a little. Julius hated see her in pain and ill.

"Ophie, the flowers are for me, aren't they?" It was something he suspected since entering the Tulgey Woods when she began coughing up flowers even more. Julius noted that when the affected person began feeling even more affection and fondness, the more the flowers grew and it caused them more pain.

Ophie nodded, affirming Julius' fear. She stopped heaving, though the black petals fell from her mouth. "I've _cough_ _cough_ been in love with you since we were _twelve_, Julius."

"Oh, well, uh, that's unfortunate," said Julius, coughing awkwardly into his hand. It really was rather unfortunate. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

Shrugging, Ophie replied, "My older brother was a fool who abandoned his duties. _cough_ I was the second child, the only one left. I couldn't leave my Kingdom to suffer because I wanted to be selfish. And… _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ I knew that you would never leave the Clover Kingdom, as you had your own dreams to accomplish as Wizard King."

Julius understood where she was coming from—they both had big dreams of change for their Kingdoms. Julius, as Wizard King, had tried to change things for the better in terms of equality for all levels of society. His changes began slowly but he knew that with the newest generation great things were happening. Ophie, as the Queen of Hearts, had her own struggles, wanting to open up the Heart Kingdom for better trade and culture exchange. It was one of the reason why they hit it off so well when they first met.

Not many ten-year-olds had massive dreams as they did. It was probably why Julius had been drawn to Asta and Yuno when he first met them. The two had big aspirations and Julius had been the same way at their age.

"I loved you too, Ophie," admitted Julius. He had loved her. He loved her fiercely until the moment he sat in the crowd at her wedding to another man, a man who was the brother of the Clover King. With his heart broken at 28, he tried to focus himself. It may also have been when he started pseudo-adopting his outlier magic knights, like Yami, Dorothy, William, and oh, now he knew why he did it.

Ophie laughed. "God, what a pair are we? _cough_ Worst timing ever."

Julius smiled, awkwardly. "Ophie, I'm sorry that we were not better at being selfish."

"We were big dreamers, Julius," said Ophie, softly. "I know you have someone waiting for you to grow up again. _cough_ _cough_"

Flushing, Julius turned his head. "Maybe…"

She pulled him into a hug. "You're my dearest friend and that will never change." Due to the age gap, Julius almost felt like he was hugging his mother again, but he enjoyed the hug.

"Thank you. You're my oldest friend," quipped Julius.

Ophie gasped, playfully and swatted him on the head. "Hey, now!"

Julius laughed and then Ophie started laughing too.

Just then, the door to her room burst opened and a boy of sixteen rushed into the room. In one fell swoop, Julius was knocked off the edge of the bed, where he had been sitting, landing on the floor. He looked up to find the black-haired and green-eyed teenager crushing Ophie in a hug.

"Mom, are you alright? When Father and the rest came back and told me you were sick, I was so worried. And then you're three bodyguards came back before you. And now you show up with some random Clover Magic Knight, throwing up flowers," said the boy, speaking fast, like how Ophie normally was when she wasn't growing a garden in her chest.

Julius knew this boy. This boy was Ophie's only son. The Crown Prince of the Heart Kingdom, Julian Eldan Theodore Nova Heart I, was a spitting image of his mother in her youth, except he was most notably male. It was like the Kira family genes barely existed in him. He had her eyes and her hair. And her button nose. Julius shook his head. Honestly, it was looking into the past.

And then Julius was reminded that he was the boy's unofficial godfather too.

"Oh, Jules, I'm fine, stop squishing me," said Ophie, fondly, ruffling her son's hair. "You're taller and bigger than me now!"

"Mom, I wanted to go and bring you home, but the council said that that the Wizard King and the Magic Knights were handling it," said Prince Julian, sending an accusatory stare at Julius, who sweated. "And how did he get in."

"He's my old friend Julius' son," said Ophie, quickly. "I granted him a rune pass due to the emergency. Edward Kairos, this is my son, Julian."

Julius internally thanked Ophie's quick thinking. Politely as possible and thinking it was weird to have this boy, who Julius held as a newborn, be so grown. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Julian. I'll leave you two alone to talk. I need to contact my team on the outside."

"A guard can take you to the room, I assume Mom granted you one," said Prince Julian. He had a makings of a king in him by seemingly taking control of the room. Ophie must be having him train in the Special Magic Forces, the Heart Kingdom's wizard army, if Prince Julian's plain clothes and short hairstyle was any indication. "Thank you for protecting my Mom."

"It is my duty as a Magic Knight to protect everyone," said Julius, honestly. "Good morning to you, Your Highnesses." He bowed slightly and exited the room, but not before realizing, as Prince Julian launched into everything that happened since Ophie left, that Ophie was not coughing anymore.

His friend was cured.

Julius was happy.

**Location Unknown**  
**17th Day of the Curse**  
**Possibly Morning**

Nozel opened his eyes. His head was pounding. It must have been the side-effect of whatever poison hit him in the first place, he thought to himself. He forced his eyes opened to observe his surroundings. Nozel was bound with anti-magic bindings, so he really couldn't move much. He was in some sort of transport device and the only person in there with him was Vanessa.

Attempting to shift to get a better look at his fellow Magic Knight, Nozel winced. Vanessa was bound, just as he was and her little fate-defying cat was gone, meaning that it probably was locked away since her mana was too. She had several bumps and bruises. There was a large gash on her head. She was out cold.

He did not see Sal, Levi or Owen, meaning that they either got away or they're dead. And knowing those three, they got away. It was unfortunate that Vanessa got captured with him. He would have to thank her. She must have tried to stop them from taking him.

Suddenly, their transport stopped, and the tarp opened and in stepped a couple of Spade Kingdom assassins.

"Oi, looks like the royal is awake. But the witch ain't."

"Damn," said the other assassin.

"You're going to regret this," said Nozel, wondering why he was left ungagged.

"No, the Clover Kingdom is going to regret getting in the middle of the Spade Kingdom's business with the Heart Kingdom's main bitch," said the first assassin. "Just like this little pretty witch is going to regret risking her neck for some royal cuckhold like you."

"How uncouth to refer to women in such ways," Nozel retorted, with an air of superiority mastered from a lifetime of acting better than everyone.

Not only did he not like how that man referred to several women he knew and respected, he wanted them to get mad in order to find some sort of opening. The priority was freeing him from the anti-magic binds. One he had his magic, he would be able to handle the situation and rescue himself and Vanessa. And once the binds were off of him, he would able to free Vanessa. Together, they would escape. Hopefully, her head wound was not too bad.

The assassins did not like his response so they decided to punch him a couple of times. If training alongside Fuegoleon taught him anything, it was how to take a punch.

Nozel spit out some of the blood that came from getting punched in the head several times. He said, "Honestly, now I know why you needed so many to take town a team of six Magic Knights, you're weak individually but together, you're numbers overwhelm. Fascinating waste of my time."

"ENOUGH! Stop beating the Royal. We need him to look presentable." It was another, probably the leader, sticking his head through the tarp. "And don't touch the witch. We need them both for the fighting pits."

Nozel did not like the sound of that news at all. How was he going to save them both and get them back home? He would preferably save them _before_ Yami and the rest of the Black Bulls come charging into enemy territory to rescue Vanessa.

The Spade Kingdom was a dangerous place if you were a Clover Kingdom citizen or a Heart Kingdom citizen. And he and Vanessa were being dragged into it.

"Damnit," he whispered.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Tota**  
**Vaude House**  
**Sitting Room**  
**17th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Angry and annoyed, Langris had to endure the praise and cooing from his mother, while his father sorted out some business matter. All he wanted to do was to find out if Lady Finesse was safe and get her back to his brother's side. He had the Golden Dawn to run until Yuno stopped being stubborn and just confess to that idiot Asta already. Langris bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from snapping at his mother.

God, how he could have listened to her fawn over him mindlessly all these years? How could he had let it get to him and make him an asshole?

Thankfully and finally, his father entered the sitting room. "Langris, it is rare that you take time to visit us. We know you're very busy."

With no more spare time, Langris jumped into the situation. "I went to see Lady Finesse because she had not visited Brother in days. I was concerned. Lord Calmreich refused to even speak to me and referred to me to you. What is going on?"

His father sighed. "Finesse is perfectly safe. Her father and I thought it would be best if she didn't see Finral anymore."

Langris grimaced. "Is she not a grown woman? I don't care if she wants to spend time with Finral, why should anyone else?"

"Right, well, it's rather inappropriate, don't you think? An engaged woman meeting with her fiancé's older half-brother," his father replied.

"The wedding will be moved up to next month," cheered his mother.

Langris did not know that fact. "What? What do you mean?"

"Well, you are 23 years old and Finesse is not getting any younger," said his father. "We were going to tell you soon, actually, what we decided."

Langris snapped, "I told you that I don't want to marry her! I refuse. She's not in love with me. She loves Brother! I refuse, absolutely refuse."

"You're a Vaude, Langris, there's no room for romantic nonsense," said his father, scolding him as if Langris was a child and not a grown man, with a career in the Magic Knights, a wizard who fought in countless battles to protect the Kingdom. His father was a sniveling nobleman, who never had to work for anything. No wonder Zora Ideale spent time harassing the nobles and royals.

Langris glared at both his parents. "I am not marrying her. I will be with someone that actually loves me. And besides, Lady Finesse is being locked in her house. You do realize that's kidnapping? As a Magic Knight, it's my duty and privilege to protect and rescue civilians."

He got up and opened a portal. His parents were screaming at him, but he didn't listen. He just jumped through and landed at the entrance of the Golden Dawn Headquarters. There was, of course, protective barriers so no one could get in and out by magic, but only by the front door.

Luckily, he landed right in front of Mimosa. (And no, he was not going to think about it like his magic took him to her, don't be ridiculous. He didn't have time to think about it). She and her team had been returning from their mission. "Langris, you looked angry. Is everything alright?"

"Not really," he admitted.

She grabbed his arm and dragged him inside, somewhere quiet where they could talk. "What's wrong? Did you talk to Lady Finesse?"

"Her father locked her in her room. Apparently they are trying to get me and her married by next month. I just spoke with my parents," said Langris, still seething that his parents were still trying to control his life. "They are trying to keep Lady Finesse and Brother apart for their own benefit."

"Ah," said Mimosa. She sighed, hands on her hips, and a smile on her face. "Well, don't you think it's time that you talk to Finral? There's no way about this, after all."

Langris hated that she was right.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital**  
**Shopping District**  
**18th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"Come on, Leo, it's over this way," said Fragil, pointing in a vague direction. Leopold managed to drag himself out of the Vermillion Homestead that morning when Fragil showed up wanting to take him out. Since his mother was resting from working in the infirmary, Leopold did not have to babysit the girls. Naturally, Astride immediately invited herself in order to spend more time with Leo. His second cousin and his Azure Deer friend were now buddies.

"I'm hurrying, geez," said Leopold. He honestly was waiting until his brother and mother let him go back to the Crimson Lions headquarters. Not only was he behind on training, but he needed to help run the squad with Randall since Mereoleona was busy with the girls' situation. He managed to convince his brother that he'll be fine in a few more days, so he won't have to wait a couple of weeks anymore.

"You two will love this place," said Fragil. He was glad that she convinced him to come out to eat sweets. "The pastries are so tasty."

"Haven't had sweets like that in ages," Astride sighed. "On the ship, it's usually fish, fish and mystery stew."

Fragil gasped. "What's mystery stew?"

Astride grimaced. "You don't want to know."

"Oh my God, don't scare Fragil," said Leopold, rolling his eyes. Astride was totally messing with Fragil, who had never been on a ship before. "Mystery stew is basically leftover stuff. There's nothing bad in it that you wouldn't normally eat."

Fragil giggled. "I thought it was like rat's meat or something." Leopold and Astride traded looks, silently agreeing not to tell her that in dire circumstances that it was exactly rat and/or seagull meat in the mystery stew. Luckily, Fragil got distracted by a shop so did not notice the looks on the two Vermillions' faces. "Oh, wait, let me stop at this paint place to check to see if the Captain's order came in!" Before Leopold could respond, Fragil was entering the art shop.

Astride laughed. "She's cute! She got a boyfriend or a girlfriend?"

"No," said Leopold, indignantly. "And don't you dare even think about it! Fragil's too sweet for you, demon woman." Astride was his cousin and he loved her but Leopold knew exactly how Astride was with significant others, breaking hearts left and right of all genders.

"Alright, alright, she's off-limits, got it," Astride said. She clapped Leo on the back to show that she understood. Why were the women in his family so violent? "But seriously, I'm glad that you came out. When Auntie Solace told me that you've been sulking since you got rejected, I was worried."

Leopold frowned at his cousin. "I wasn't sulking."

"Seemed like it," said Astride. "It's not like you."

Shrugging, he replied, "It's not easy getting over someone that you've been in love with for a few years, you know?"

"I guess," said Astride, making a face. "You know, I want to meet this person that got you all messed up. He's got to be something amazing."

"If you visit us more, you would definitely run into him," said Leopold, tiredly. "He's still my friend, after all."

Astride looked like she wanted to say something, but they were interrupted by Fragil exiting the shop, arms empty. The ice user smiled, wearily, "The Captain's order is late."

"Will he be annoyed?"

"No, he'll just use his magic," said Fragil, wincing. "I see clean-ups in my future now."

Leopold nodding sympathetically. Rill had a whole other level of insanity but it seemed that it was par for the course for Magic Knight Captains. "Well, we have a sweets to look forward to, Fragil!"

"Yeah," said Fragil, pumped up for eating good food. "Oh? What were you two talking about while I was gone?" The three continued down the streets of the capital.

"I was just asking about the anti-magic guy," said Astride, honest and forthcoming to a fault at times. The twinkle in her eyes grew as she grinned. "Leo! Let me introduce you some of the awesome guys on my ship when you're ready."

Leopold did not say anything because there was no way that he was ready to even fathom loving someone else. The words of "no, that's not happening" were caught in his throat. He knew that his second cousin was well-meaning in her offer, but he just was not ready. Thankfully, Fragil was a good friend.

"Oh, Lady Astride, would you like to hear about the time Leo and I went on a mission to defeat a rampaging ancient sand worm in the Forsaken Realm," interjected Fragil. Fragil was purposely being cute, Leopold knew. Fragil may have seemed ditzy, but she was very cunning.

"Woah," Astride said, in awe. Like all Vermillion, she would be distracted by a story about a great fight. "Do tell, do tell!"

Leopold chuckled as Fragil launched into that particular story that cemented their friendship. He was really glad that he came to hang out with his friend today, even if his thoughts still went to Asta.

"And then, oh, Leo, do you remember what you said when it almost ate me…"

Leo grinned at Fragil as he jumped in to tell the story with her as Astride listened, fascinated. It was a decent day. Tomorrow would be even better, because it would be one more day to heal. He'd get over Asta eventually.

Eventually.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Vermillion Homestead**  
**Sitting Room**  
**18th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

The girls were well-fed as usual. When they were well-fed, they tended to be a lot calmer, especially Blue, who was more aggressive than Hanima and Sabriel. Mereoleona knew the best time to get Vice-Captain Vivian over to check them out was when they were calm, tired and full of food. It took a few days before Vivian had time to stop over since Nozel was out an important mission and she was running the Silver Eagles in his stead.

"Let me check them over one at a time," said Vivian. Nebra had come with Vivian, merely because Vivian needed directions to the Vermillion Homestead and Mereoleona had a suspicion, thanks to Nozel, that Vivian and Nebra spent most of their free time together anyway.

"Let Blue go first," said Mereoleona. If Blue did something, then Hanima and Sabriel would be more comfortable to do it next. Mereoleona picked up Blue and placed her in front of Vivian.

Vivian had a blood-affinity magic. Normally that would be a witch-like ability as the Witch Queen was known to have the same magic affinity, but Vivian was also an expert in ancient runes and seals in order to use them in conjunction with her magic. Mereoleona knew that Vivian's unusual magic affinity caused Nozel to pick her for the Silver Eagles, despite Vivian being a commoner.

"Alright, Miss Blue," cooed Vivian, softly, her purple eyes turned red as she activated her magic. "This will not hurt." Mereoleona watched as Vivian inspected the arms of Blue. It took about five minutes.

Blue, to her credit, did not freak out with the strange wizard looking at her tattoo seals. Mereoleona was glad that Blue looked more curious at Vivian's grimoire.

"Done. Thank you, Miss Blue," said Vivian, smiling gently at the 11-year-old.

Blue rushed back over to Hanima and Sabriel, speaking in excited babbling that Mereoleona was unable to understand. She really needed to get them into lessons for language. Of course, she didn't expect them not to speak the language they were most comfortable speaking, but each of the girls needed to communicate better to become more independent of each other.

Vivian repeated the same process with Hanima and then Sabriel.

"So," asked Mereoleona once Vivian was done. "What do you think?"

Vivian sighed. "I have both good news and bad news, Captain Mereoleona. The good news is that I recognize the patterns. The bad news is that it's a highly complicated removal process that I won't be able to do on my own. We would need a whole team. And I wouldn't want to do the removal process right now on them."

"Okay, okay, back up," said Mereoleona. "Who would be able to help you? I'll make them."

"It would be best to have Lady Solace, Lady Ruth, Dr. Owen, Miss Secre, and Zora Ideale," said Vivian, nodding as she counted them off. "There are some seal experts I know that aren't Magic Knights or Scholars that I can get to help me as well."

"Easy enough," said Mereoleona. "Now, why can't we do the removal process as soon as we get everyone needed?"

"The girls have been malnourished and sick from natural magic exposure for a long time. Their bodies are not strong enough or healed enough to go through the process," said Vivian. "They only been under your care for a couple of weeks, that's not enough time to be well enough to sit through an unsealing magical process."

Mereoleona sighed. "Fuck, my mother would probably agree with you."

"But ultimately we can remove the seals," said Vivian. "Once that will happen, when they turn 15 like everyone else, they'll get grimoires."

"That's all I needed to hear," said Mereoleona. She was pretty pleased, even if there was a wait. "Now, Vivian, can you do you blood tests? Like see if people are blood related?"

Vivian shot a look at Nebra, both were clearly confused. "Umm, yeah?"

"Great, I have one more thing for you to do," said Mereoleona. She had to know for certain if Blue was a Kira royal or not. If she wasn't, then great, it was one less thing she had to deal with concerning the girls. But if she was, no one could ever find out.

"Yeah? Ok. What is it?"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Kirsch Vermillion's Bedroom**  
**19th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Dorothy was thrilled that William and she were able to recruit Fuegoleon into their plan. Fuegoleon was so beyond stressed as he had not heard from Team Save the Queen or the duo of Asta and Secre in days. Not only that, but the Magic Parliament, the House Vermillion Council of Elders and the King of the Clover Kingdom were breathing down his neck. It was easy enough to get him to agree to let Dorothy and William enact their plan.

Thankfully, she had a healer wizard in her squad, so neither Lady Solace nor Lady Ruth would be required to monitor him. Dorothy brought Kirsch home. She and William surmised that getting the last three stubborn idiots out of the infirmary might help their constitution.

"Thank you, Captain," said Kirsch, laying now comfortably in his own bed in his room. Dorothy and 2nd Class Senior Magic Knight healing-affinity wizard Barry Morton were in Kirsch's room. Barry was going to be constantly checking on Kirsch throughout the day and night. Anything major was to be reported to Dorothy or Levi so that either Lady Solace or Lady Ruth could be summoned. "I'm glad _cough_ _cough_ to be back."

Dorothy smiled at her Vice-Captain. "I just want you to get better. And you have been in the infirmary for more than two weeks now, so I thought this might help."

"You are not to overdue anything, Vice-Captain," said Barry, setting up his medical gear at Kirsch's personal desk.

"Yes, yes, I'll be fine, _cough_ _cough_" said Kirsch, not before coughing up more red carnations.

Now that Kirsch was in his comfortable space, he might wind up talking to someone about his feelings for Zora. If not Dorothy, then maybe someone else in the squad? Once Kirsch came to terms that the feelings were real, because knowing him Kirsch probably believed that he imagined the feelings, and he had to do something about it.

"I'll come back in a few hours to eat some lunch with you. I have to go check up on Patri," said Dorothy.

Kirsch looked at Dorothy, quizzically. "Uhh, what's _cough_ Patri doing here?"

"Well, our 15-year-olds, 16-year-olds, and 17-year-ods have kidnapped Patri the last time William and him came to visit," replied Dorothy, winking at Kirsch.

Kirsch looked horrified. "Oi! _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ Tell those little hellions not to scar the elf!"

Dorothy just giggled on her way out of the room. Kirsch was already acting more like himself. It was good to hear.

**Cherry blossoms **  
_(Meaning) gentle, kind, transience of life_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**19th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Gauche and Magna came to pick Finral up from the infirmary to bring him back to the Black Bulls' base. Finral was surprised but pleased that Captain William and Captain Dorothy were the architects of this plan—Kirsch was picked up by Dorothy and another Coral Peacock and Yuno was picked up by Mimosa, William and Klaus. Magna and Gauche had been late, because whenever the two of them went anywhere together, they tended to argue about directions.

Finral was not allowed to use his spatial magic until the curse was gone because both Lady Solace and Lady Ruth did not want him overexerting himself with mana use. He just did not know how safe traveling on the Crazy Cyclone was in the first place.

"Can't wait to have you back, Finral. No one but Noelle attempts to scold us like you," said Magna, patting Finral on the back.

"Aw, geez, _cough_ thanks," said Finral. "I can just imagine _cough_ how much paperwork there is now." Since Asta was super busy as a Grand Magic Knight Wizard and Noelle was doing investigations, he knew that they did not have time to do the Black Bulls' paperwork. He wanted to cry at the thought of TWO weeks of backlog of work.

Suddenly, the door to the infirmary slammed opened and in stepped the last person that Finral ever expected to see again in the infirmary, especially since Yuno was now back at the Golden Dawn headquarters. Langris looked angry, but to be fair, Finral's little brother had an "epic resting bitch-face" according to Vanessa.

"Langris," asked Finral. He could feel the build-up flowers immediate in his chest.

Magna and Gauche stepped protectively in front of Finral (which Finral very much appreciated, he had good friends). Magna said, combatively, "What are you doing here?"

Gauche merely glared at Langris as if daring Langris to attack Finral.

"Get out of my way, Mohawk, and Sister Complex," said Langris, dismissively. Finral sighed at his brother's attitude. "No one has time for the Black Bulls' posturing. Lady Finesse is in danger."

"What," Finral exclaimed. "What happened to Lady Finesse? _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ Is she hurt? _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ Is she ill?" Finral knew something was wrong when Finesse stopped coming by to see him. He hoped that she was okay and not scared out of her mind.

"Calm down," said Langris, sternly but not mealy. "She's been locked in her room by her father. Apparently, her father and our father have discovered that Finesse and you have decided to be together and they are not happy with the situation. Therefore, you and I need to talk. It's no time for either of us to be stubborn as we have been these last three years."

Finral's worry over Lady Finesse overrode his embarrassment at getting an Unrequited Love Curse for his brother because Langris was right. He was needed. "It's alright, _cough_ Magna, _cough_ Gauche. Let me _cough_ and Langris talk…_cough_ _cough_ in private."

Magna and Gauche traded worried looks but nodded. Magna pointed at Langris menacingly as he and Gauche went towards the door. "If you hurt one hair on Finral's head, you answer to us. You yell, Finral, if you need us."

Langris just glared at Finral's two friends. Once Magna and Gauche left the room, all was quiet except for Finral's labored breathing.

"Talk," said Finral. He did not know if he was going to make it through this conversation without hacking up a lung.

Langris looked rather off-put now that they were alone in the infirmary together. "Well, uh, I was hoping that you would start."

Finral had never heard his brother sound so unsure about anything. Finral could have just waited the painful minutes to let Langris talk, but Finral knew that it took three years and a Curse to get them here. If they waited for the other to make the first move, Finral would die from flowers before long. A voice that suspiciously sounded like Vanessa scolded him to let Langris talk first, but the fact that Lady Finesse was being mistreated, spurred Finral onward.

"Langris, you're my brother and _I love you._ I have not been the best _cough_ _cough_ brother in the past. I am _cough_ truly sorry for that," said Finral, smiling gently at his brother. "After the whole elf-souls-taking-over-bodies-of-Magic-Knights situation, _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ I found every excuse not to talk to you about what happened. I didn't care what you thought of me, _cough_ _cough_ as long as you were safe. But I see now that I should have taken the _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ initiative and talked to you long before this moment. _cough_ I want us to be brothers, to be like a family should, even if it just the two of us. _cough_ I want us to be able to talk about everything and nothing at all. As long as you want all that too."

Langris looked embarrassed. "I, uh, want that too. I just…I'm not good at feelings or whatever. I can't express myself well ever. I never thanked you for saving me back then. So thank you, Brother, for saving me."

"Langris…" started Finral.

"And…it's my fault too for not talking to you sooner as well. I don't know. I get agitated when I see you with your Black Bull teammates and how close you are to them and how much they care about you," said Langris, clearly frustrated. He probably thought he was not doing the whole taking about his feelings in the right way. Finral was so beyond happy that Langris was expressing himself so much with actual clear words. "I love you too, Brother. I just have a shitty way of showing it. I promise that I'll be better too."

Finral's chest did not feel so tight anymore. And he had ceased coughing in the middle of Langris' speech. Was he cured?

Unable to help himself, Finral pulled Langris into a hug. Langris did not protest. "I am just so happy, right now."

"…are you crying, Brother?"

Finral was crying, in happiness, but that was neither here nor there, because he was not coughing cherry blossoms anymore. "Let's go save Lady Finesse."

"Alright, let's kidnap the princess then."

Finral laughed, because Langris tried to make a joke, but still crying happy tears. First he was cured because Finral's brother actually did love him and now they were going to be rescuing a damsel-in-distress. It was just amazing day all around.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Bedroom**  
**19th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Yuno knew that Mimosa, William and Klaus were all up to something. He knew that they were going to try to convince him to confess. He was certain that both William and Mimosa knew for a fact that Yuno was in love with Asta and also that Klaus had his suspicions. However, he also knew that the three were trying their best to look out for Yuno and he appreciated the thought.

And ultimately, he was just really glad to be back in his room at Golden Dawn. He knew that since Mimosa was going to be his healer caretaker from now on that he was not getting away with anything, especially since Mimosa will not hesitate to get Sister Lily to come to help her. Sister Lily had met both Mimosa and Noelle on numerous occasions and the closest person to mother that Yuno and Asta both had loved the two Royal young women.

Thankfully, Mimosa went to get some supplies from Lady Solace and both William and Klaus had to attend to Golden Dawn matters because Langris "taking a personal day." Yuno finally had some peace and quiet to relax and put things into perspective.

Then, there was a knock on his door.

Yuno cursed, but said, "Yeah?"

"It's me, Yuno. May I enter," asked the familiar voice of the Wizard King, the former Captain of the Crimson Lions, Fuegoleon Vermillion.

"Yes, sir," said Yuno. Fuegoleon entered the room and came to sit down in the chair next to the bed that Mimosa will be using for the foreseeable future. Fuegoleon was as regal as always. It was no wonder that he commanded respect. Yuno thought he was a great choice for Wizard King until Yuno was ready for that role. "What can I _cough_ do for you, sir?"

Fuegoleon gave him a pointed look. "We need to talk about the curse, Yuno."

Yuno grimaced. He was afraid that Fuegoleon was going to say that sentence. "To be frank _cough_, there's nothing to talk about, sir."

"I disagree," Fuegoleon said sternly. "You are one of the most promising young Captains in ages. Bell, the Wind Spirit, chose you. You have a four-leaf Clover grimoire. And you're a hero amongst the citizens and fellow Magic Knights alike. What drew me to you and Asta was your determination to battle your way to the top, to the position that I now hold, as Wizard King, to change the Kingdom for the better for every class. How can you do that if you're dead because you were too stubborn or too scared to admit your feelings?"

"Have you been _cough_ _cough_ talking to Asta _cough_," Yuno questioned.

Fuegoleon sighed. "Let's me be frank, Yuno. I am not willing to lose you as a Captain or a Magic Knight. You are only 19. Please just tell Asta how you feel. Have that conversation with him. And see what happens."

Yuno frowned. Does everyone know that Yuno was in love with Asta? "But I don't have the same _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ curse as the others. He has to return my feelings. And I know Asta. Asta doesn't feel the same way." The coughing fit lasted more than two minutes. Fuegoleon only gave him a stern look. No pity.

"You know, Mimosa and Noelle had been in love with Asta and Leo is in love with Asta, and he turned all three of them down," said Fuegoleon, bluntly. Yuno winced, pushing down the jealousy. "Do you know how many people would kill to be in Asta's position? Three of the most eligible royals of your generation attracted to the only person in the known-world that has no magic, who should have never made it to the level he did. You need to talk to him. Don't assume anything about another person's feelings until they tell you their self."

Yuno bit his bottom lip.

"And if Asta's not in love with you, we'll figure it out from there. Lady Ruth and Mother are going into heavy research now that they are free from infirmary duty," said Fuegoleon.

"Is this _cough_ an order, Wizard King, sir?"

"A friendly suggestion," replied Fuegoleon, "so don't make me make it an order, Captain Yuno."

Yuno scowled, but dared not glare at the Wizard King. "Yes, sir."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Calmreich Homestead**  
**Finesse Calmreich's Bedroom**  
**19th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Finesse paced her room. She had been doing a lot pacing recently. Not only was she stressed about her father being an unreasonable jerk, she was concerned about Finral. Finesse really hoped that Langris or Finral would reach out and talk to each other soon.

Since her mother was on a vacation (from the "stress of Finesse getting cursed" or something), Finesse had no way to undermine her father's authority. Her father would only bend under her mother's will. Her mother picked the worst time to go on a vacation.

"Gosh, darn it to all heck," grumbled Lady Finesse, knowing that if her tutors heard her she would have been scolded and made to write lines.

Once she was tired of pacing, she plopped herself on bed. Thankfully, she was still being well-fed, visited by the doctor for her health (which had always been poor), and allowed to take baths every morning. She missed the outside. She wanted to see the sun. Finesse wanted to visit Finral and spend time with him. She even wanted to make friends with Finral's friends.

A sudden rap-rap-rap at the window startled her. Finesse went to the window and found Finral using a broom to float by her window. She flung the window open and pulled him inside, hugging him.

"You're here! Are you ok? Should you be out of the infirmary?!"

Finral laughed, clear as day and no coughing. "I'm all cleared, milady. Langris and I talked. Everything's ok now. Now we have to get going, Langris is making a distraction downstairs for us to escape.

"Oh thank Heavens, you're better now" said Finesse, still hugging him. Realizing that she may seem like she was clingy, she let go and stared up at him. "So, are you and Langris really ok?"

"Sort of, but we promised to work on it," said Finral, laughing nervously. "Uhh, but Lady Finesse…"

"Just Finesse, Finral, I told you that already," she scolded.

"I just wanted to make clear," he said, softly. "I'm asking you to run away with me and live with me at the Black Bulls' base."

Finesse startled for a moment. He was really asking her! Had she been younger she would have hesitated. Leaving with Finral now, she would be giving up her family, her position, and her inheritance.

"Of course, I'm going with you," said Finesse, smiling widely. "As long as you're with me, I'll be ok."

Finral blushed and held out his hand. She took it, as he opened portal, so they could step through it. They wound up outside of the Calmreich Homestead in an instant, meeting with Langris, who was running.

"Let's get out of here, before the guards catch up," he demanded.

Finral opened up another portal for the three and they all stepped through it, together.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Wizard King's Office**  
**20th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Fuegoleon placed the latest reconnaissance report from the several Magic Knights he sent to check up on Asta and Secre's progress. It was very bad news indeed. Not only was he going to have to break the news to Yami and the rest of the Black Bulls, but also Yuno. Fuegoleon could not see this going well.

According to the report, the dungeon that he sent Asta and Secre to investigate collapsed in on itself. Fuegoleon knew better than to assume Asta was dead, because this was Asta, Asta was not going to die yet. He still had to become the Wizard King. Fuegoleon was no longer startled at the staunch belief he had in Asta to come back alive no matter what.

Still, as the Wizard King, he had to inform Yami.

He got up from his desk and went to fetch Marx to call Yami and then twenty minutes later, Yami, smoking, was lazily strolling into Fuegoleon's office. He looked eternally bored as usual.

"I swear to God if you have another stupid mission for me, I'm kicking your ass, Fuegoleon," said Yami. "You had better thank God I finally got my transportation back since Finral finally got his ass out of bed."

Fuegoleon sighed. "It's about Asta and Secre. They're unaccounted for…"

"They're missing? Well, knowing them both, they sure as hell ain't dead but the question is where the hell did they go," Yami asked. "Assuming you sent a recon-squad already, no sight of them?"

Fuegoleon shook his head. "Negative, unfortunately."

Yami took a long drag of his cigarette and said, "Well, alright then." Yami turned to leave the office.

Fuegoleon asked, "Where are you going?"

Yami flipped him off and said, "To get my idiots back in one piece, what else?"

And Fuegoleon knew better than to stop Yami when he made up his mind to do something, so he just like the Captain of the Black Bulls go. Besides, Yami would find Asta and Secre and it would be one less thing to worry about today.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Vermillion Homestead**  
**Sitting Room #2**  
**20th Day of the Curse**  
**Night**

Mereoleona sighed as she entering her and her mother's favorite sitting room. She had just finished getting the girls to settle down and sleep. Despite offering separate rooms, the girls insisted on sleeping together in one room. Mereoleona was not going to argue since the beds in this house were more than enough to fit three young girls with no issue. Her mother Solace was in her favorite chair, sipping some tea, and a book in her lap.

"Girls finally to bed," asked Mereoleona's mother.

"I am so glad you find this amusing," quipped Mereoleona, sitting in her own favorite chair, and taking the bottle of whisky and pouring herself a glass.

Her mother giggled. "You hated bedtime. Struggled every night to get you to stay in your room and sleep."

Mereoleona opened her mouth to respond, but clamped it shut when she realized that her mother was telling the truth. Probably until she was ten, Mereoleona did have clear memories of being a little terror, not listening to a word her mother or father said, picking on Fuego, and harassing the royal servants. Instead, she opted to take a sip of her whisky.

"Nothing to say, my only precious daughter," her mother teased, taking a sip of her tea. Mereoleona shook her head, until her mother changed her tone to being more serious. "Being a parent is life swimming in an ocean with no life-raft. No one knows what they're doing."

Mereoleona raised an eyebrow at her mother. "You knew what you were doing, Mother. You're a good parent, you and Father both."

Solace smiled, wryly. "I appreciate you thought we were capable. We were actually winging it the whole time. All I knew that was I was going to be better than my own parents no matter what."

"If I can be half-as-good as you are at being a mother, then I'll be happy," replied Mereoleona. "I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I decided on this path."

"The Good Book teaches us that there is only one way to become a parent, but that is a falsehood. There are many ways to become a parent," Solace said smiling gently at Mereoleona.

"When I first ran into them, I was just gonna drop them off at the nearest orphanage," Mereoleona admitted.

"Mhmm, a reasonable choice for anyone else."

"But then…I think I got more attached to them than they are to me," she told her mother. "I admit they were so fascinated with my magic, hunting skills, and survival in the wilderness skills that it was an ego boost. It reminded me of when Fuego and the cousins were younger. It reminded me of Leo too."

"You protect people, Mereoleona. That has been your way forever. Even if you don't admit it," said Solace. "Do you remember when you told me about your fight against the Eye of the Midnight Sun people in their hideout?"

Mereoleona nodded. "The two problem children were with me." When she had divided the Royal Knights up, she had only meant to keep Asta and Zora with her in order to make sure that they did not do anything stupid. She had the feeling they were both the type to mess up a plan—they still were the type.

"You gained both their respect and admiration that day," said Solace, reminding her, "even Zora, whom does not like royals and nobles for good reason."

"Why did you bring this up?"

"Because, the more time you spent with the girls, the more time you realized that you wanted to protect and take care of them," said Solace. "It's why you didn't just drop them off at any orphanage in the Forsaken Realm. And you are my daughter too. You don't have it in you to abandon any child, no matter how grown they are."

Mereoleona grimaced. She hated that her mother was right in this particular matter.

"Mereo, you don't need to be a mother like me. Be a mother like you," said Solace, eyes twinkling in mischief. "I know for a fact that you will be a great mother, if not a bit unconventional."

Mereoleona took another sip of her whisky, she did not want her mother to see her getting misty-eyed.

Stupid mother always believing in her, geez, thought Mereoleona to herself.

Solace giggled.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Blue Rose Headquarters**  
**Outside, Courtyard**  
**20th Day of the Curse**  
**Night**

"You want me to what," asked Charlotte. She had been in the middle of training some of her younger members in the courtyard, when Yami, Magna, Luck, Noelle, Finral, and Mimosa arrived on brooms. Charlotte halted training as Yami came over to her. He asked her to go with him with no context, which prompted her question.

"Asta and Secre are missing, I want you to come with me. I might need your ability to uproot shit," said Yami, sighing.

Charlotte stared at him. "Wait, wait, what the hell do you mean that Asta and Secre are missing?!" She wondered if anyone told Leopold. If Mimosa was there with the Black Bulls, it meant that Yuno certainly knew and she doubted that Asta's childhood friend and rival was taking things well.

"Just that. They went on an important mission for Fuego and apparently the dungeon ain't there anymore," said Yami, irritated. He was never good at worrying about people and Asta tended to make him worry all the time. "You coming or not, Prickly Queen?"

Charlotte nodded. "Lerola! Take command while I'm gone! Contact me if necessary." Her sister had been at the outdoor tables working on something or another. Lerola waved Charlotte off.

"Let's go get those two idiots back," said Yami. "Yeah?"

"RIGHT!"

**Heart Kingdom**  
**Heart Capital City**  
**The Red Palace**  
**Office of the Queen of Hearts**  
**21st Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Julius was ready to go home. Not that he didn't love spending time with Ophie, but Julius swore that Prince Jules was plotting "Edward's death." He did not know why for certain, but it probably had something to do with the story concocted by Ophie and himself to appease every Royal and official in the Red Palace.

To everyone but himself and Ophie, he was Edward Kairos, the illegitimate son of the late Clover Kingdom Wizard King Julius Novachrono, who had been Ophie's best friend in her youth. Perhaps, Prince Jules felt threatened by "Edward," as they were physically about the same age, who was his mother's very important and honored guest.

"Your son is gonna kill me," said Julius, entering the office of the Queen of Hearts. He hadn't sensed anyone else in the office, so it was why he just went in.

Ophie snorted, pushing the papers on her desk away from her. No matter the kingdom, it seemed that paperwork plagued everyone. "No. He's just trying to figure you out. Admittedly, Jules is a good wizard and Prince, but he's been around people older than himself for ages. He doesn't know how to interact with people his own age."

Knowing what Julius did about the in-and-outs of the Heart Kingdom Royalty, he knew it was true. Ophie hadn't any friends her own age until she met Julius by chance back when they were ten. Ophie, otherwise, spent time with tutors, trainers, officials, her parents, and guards.

Julius sighed. Prince Jules' glowering face told Julius otherwise. "Maybe, but I think he thinks that you might love me as another son because of "my father.""

Laughing, Ophie replied. "Maybe. But I really think that I need to do something about Jules being around grown men and women all the time. He needs friends."

"Well, when all this mess is over, I'll talk to Fuegoleon. Maybe Prince Jules can come to visit Clover Kingdom," said Julius, thoughtfully.

"The ones I met in the infirmary were all very kind," said Ophie. "I hope they are all getting better."

"Actually, there's only two affected by the curse left," said Julius, recalling his conversation with Fuegoleon via magical communication. "Young Captain Yuno and Vice-Captain Kirsch Vermillion."

"Oh, I'm so glad that Finral was able to talk to his brother," said Ophie, nodding. "Yuno's the tall, dark, handsome one with the loud childhood friend and rival, Asta? And Kirsch is the royal who kept referring to himself as a beautiful and being dramatic, right?"

"Yep, those two," said Julius, nodding at her spot on descriptions of Yuno and Kirsch.

"That makes me feel better. Did Fuegoleon tell you anything about the leads on the possible unit of terrorists plotting against the Heart Kingdom?"

"Unfortunately, no. Sal had been leading the investigation, but she took a break by escorting you back," said Julius. "I'm sure once she's back, she'll go headlong into the investigation. She's bull-headed like that. If anyone could find out a plot against any kingdom, it's Sal."

"She's one of yours from your days in Grey Deer, if I remember," said Ophie, thoughtfully. "If you believe in her, then I will too."

"There's another matter," said Julius, hesitantly.

"Ah yes, the actions of the Spade Kingdom," said Ophie, frowning. "The Parliament, both the House of Royals and the House of Commons, are discussing the matter. I think the worst will be a condemnation decree."

Julius sighed in relief. "Then, I'm sure the Magic Parliament, the King of Clover, and the Wizard King will do the same." Basically, a condemnation decree was a way for one kingdom to tell another that they were assholes in the most polite, diplomatic manner in order not to start a war.

"You're leaving this evening, Julius. You want to take some books with you when you leave," asked Ophie.

"Ah, yes, I would appreciate that very much. I'll even remember to send the ones I have back to you," said Julius, grinning.

"Oh, you are lying about that," said Ophie, laughing. "But I'll have you know that I have a list of every book you borrowed from me."

"I'm sure," said Julius, wryly. "I'll remember this time."

Ophie laughed again.

Of course, they were interrupted by a courier from the Parliament rushing into the Queen of Hearts' Office. "Your Majesty! There's a situation!" Ophie was out of her chair, going over to the young courier and taking the paper in his hands. She patted him on the head to calm him down.

"Your Highness," asked Julius, remembering that they had company now and that he needed to be respectful to her as Edward Kairos.

Ophie read the note quickly, paling, but steading herself to not show weakness. She was a Queen, after all. Folding the note, she said, kindly to the courier. "Thank you. Please inform the Parliament that I will be there shortly with the Council and Prince Jules." The courier nodded and rushed out of the room to deliver the Queen's message.

Once they were clear, Julius went to Ophie. "What happened?"

"Julius. This is very, very bad," she told him, her Queenly disposition breaking in his presence. "The Spade Kingdom sent us an official declaration of war!"

"What?!"

**Spade Kingdom**  
**The POW Fighting Pits**  
**21st Day of the Curse**  
**Time of Day Unknown**

Vanessa hated cages. Having lived many years of her life in one, this was not doing her any good. In addition, she had not had a good drink in days. And now, she was snuck in a cell with Nozel Silva, and two old timers who had been Clover citizens.

From what she and Nozel gathered, they were brought to the Spade Kingdom's infamous Coliseum, otherwise known as the Prisoner of War Fighting Pits. Certainly, she was aware the Spade Kingdom had other fighting pits for pure entertainment purposes and fighting pits for Spade Kingdom-born prisoners, but this one was where they kept all non-Spade Kingdom prisoners.

The chains that bound them sealed their magic use and their grimoires were confiscated. The fighting pits were a place where one fought without the use of their grimoire. Vanessa was not looking forward to having to do so. She could do it, as she was a Black Bull, after all, but Vanessa preferred otherwise.

Nozel tried to talk to the two old-timers, but they were not talking at all. She knew that he hoped to get some information. But there was something in the back of Vanessa's mind that she knew she had to discuss with Nozel.

"Hey, Captain Nozel," said Vanessa.

"Yes, Miss Enoteca," said Nozel.

"Please just call me Vanessa," she told him. "You're a royal so you know what the higher-ups will do right? What's going to happen to us?"

While she knew that once her family in the Black Bulls found out she was captured, they would come for her, but what if they were unable? Would the Magic Parliament, the King of Clover, and the Wizard King push to rescue them?

Nozel grimaced. "As the Spade Kingdom is clearly not going to ransom me as the heir of House Silva, it'll be up to the Magic Parliament. We are considered Prisoners of War, despite no actual war. If it was up to Fuegoleon, you and I both know that he'd send a team in a heartbeat."

"Well, it is up to the Magic Parliament. And they'll definitely attempt to save you, at least," said Vanessa.

"Not likely," replied Nozel, tonelessly. "And I wouldn't be leaving without you, even if they did try to save me."

"What do you mean "not likely," Captain Nozel," Vanessa asked. She did not address the second part because it was almost sweet, almost like he cared for someone other than his family.

"I have three siblings. Nebra will be able to become the heir. There are more Grand Magic Knights that don't have Captaincies, so the Silver Eagles post can be filled easily enough," explained Nozel. "In addition, the Magic Parliament sees me, along with Fuegoleon, as troublemakers, especially when we jumped to the defense of Asta after the war with the elves. The assholes there would be glad to be rid of me."

Vanessa, stunned, processing what he just told her. "That's a depressing way to call yourself expendable."

Nozel just looked at her, but he didn't look like he was too depressed about it. "In those matters as heir, Captain or royal, I am expendable. But as a brother, cousin and friend, I am not. I suspect that we need to escape before we have all of the Silver Eagles and the Black Bulls busting into the Spade Kingdom and starting a war."

Vanessa smiled, lopsidedly. "Well, you're not wrong. Noelle will be leading the charge."

"She will be," nodded Nozel, "Meaning that we have to get out of here before Sal and Levi report back the news of our capture."

Vanessa nodded. "So, how are we going to escape?"

"I," he hesitated, "have no idea. But we can come up with something."

Sighing, Vanessa leaned against the dirty wall of the cell. Grinning slightly, she said, "Oh, and Captain Nozel?"

"Yes?"

"I wouldn't leave without you either."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**22nd Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

As soon as he heard that only three of the team came back, Fuegoleon rushed to the infirmary to find Sal, Levi and Dr. Owen being checked out by Lady Ruth. Perhaps it was his bias and worry, he went to Sal's side first. She was his wife, after all.

"What happened," said Fuegoleon, taking one of Sal's hands in his.

Sal looked at him, red-rimmed eyes and bags under them. "Nozel and Vanessa got captured by the Spade Kingdom! I'm so sorry, Fuego, everything happened so fast." Sal was beating herself up over it. She would for ages. Fuegoleon squeezed her hand. Sal stopped talking because she was trying not to cry and she was not the type to cry often.

"The Queen and Edward made it safely," interjected Levi, who looked beyond exhausted, but saw that Sal was not going to be able to finish the verbal report at the moment. "We almost all made it, sir. But they targeted Captain Nozel. And Miss Vanessa rushed to save him. I think she may have changed their fate so that they only got captured and not died right then and there, but I can't be certain. There was just so many Spade Kingdom wizards, sir. They were not particularly strong, but the numbers…was too overwhelming for the lot of us. Plus some of them were eating some sort of pill."

Fuegoleon put the pieces together in his head. He said, "Well, I think I may know why there was so many of them. I just got word from, uh, Edward."

"Oh for God's sake, I know that Edward is actually Julius. I'm not an idiot," snapped Lady Ruth, in the middle of healing Dr. Owen, who looked the worst out of all three as he was not a fighter but a healer. "Just tell them, Fuegoleon."

Fuegoleon nodded. "The Spade Kingdom sent a Declaration of War to the Heart Kingdom. The Heart Kingdom Parliament and our Magic Parliament are both in session to plan the next moves of both of the Kingdoms."

"That's bad news," said Sal. "I'll go and rescue Nozel and Vanessa. The Magic Parliament will just twiddle their thumbs in the meantime."

"No," said Fuegoleon. "Sal, I need you here now. You have to finish the investigation about the possible terrorists that worked with the flower curse wizard, most likely they are ex-citizens of the Heart Kingdom. Levi, you are on medical leave, to end at Dorothy's discretion."

"What," Levi and Sal yelled, at the same time.

"Fuegoleon, you can't mean it! What about Nozel and Vanessa?"

"Sir, Captain Dorothy won't ever let me leave again! You can't leave it up to her."

Fuegoleon held up his hands to stop the two of them from yelling at him. "I can and just did. Sal, don't worry about Nozel and Vanessa. I think there's only two people for the job as delicate as this one. I'm going to send them out, before the Magic Parliament makes their decisions, so even if they tell us to forget Nozel and Vanessa, we'll already have a rescue plan underway. And Levi, it's just until your mana exhaustion is healed. Dorothy will most likely being going to sleep once Kirsch is back in shape. You can talk to him then."

Sal and Levi both quieted.

Lady Ruth tsked and said, "Those two got sent to the fighting pits, no doubt. You had better hope the two people you send can get there quickly as possible."

Fuegoleon knew that Lady Ruth was correct.

And now, he had more bad news to report to Yami once he came back from finding Asta and Secre. Fuegoleon did not think it would go as well as since Vanessa was close to Yami's heart as a younger sister figure. And Noelle, Nebra and Solid were not going to be too thrilled either. He was going to have to put restrictions on the Black Bulls and Silver Eagles squads.

Fuegoleon wished that Julius would hurry up and get back. He was going to need some guidance from the former Wizard King.

He needed to talk to his father in the meantime.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**the location of the former dungeon at the eastern edge near the border of Clover and Diamond**  
**22nd Day of the Curse**  
**Morning, at the same time Sal and Levi are breaking the news to Fuegoleon about Nozel and Vanessa**

It did not take them half-as-long as the first time Magna made his way out to this particular dungeon since they had Finral back in action. Even Finral was on modified duty (meaning no fighting), he managed to open a portal to the town closest to where they needed to go, since Finral had been there previously. Once they found Asta and Secre, they would go back to the town as fast as possible and meetup with Finral to get back to the Capital.

Magna was worried about his two missing juniors, but at the moment, he was way more worried about Noelle. Asta was her best friend and Secre was very dear to her, not to mention they hadn't heard anything about the mission to get the Queen of Hearts back, so she was also worried about Nozel and Vanessa on top of it.

"Little Noelle, you need to breathe," said Magna, as they flew to the location on their respective brooms. Captain Yami and Captain Charlotte were a bit ahead arguing about plans. Mimosa and Luck were in the back. "Everything is going to be fine. This is our Little Rasta, we're talking about here. We both know that he's not dead."

"I know," snapped Noelle. "I just…what if they've been hurt?!"

"Why we brought Mimosa with us," responded Magna. Noelle was the closest to being a little sister to him. He knew that she was not good at emotions and tended to lash out when she was feelings something too complicated. He blamed her shit royal family—especially since knowing the four siblings, Magna knew that none of them were good at any kind of positive feelings. "You can punch Asta for worrying you when we find him. Right now, we need you to breathe and remember that you're a badass Magic Knight."

Noelle scowled, but nodded. She breathed in and out. "Sorry, I snapped at you."

Magna shook his head. "It's ok. I know you don't mean it."

"Still," said Noelle, flushing. She faced forward and set her mouth in a firm line. Asta was going to hear it when they found him.

They finally reached the crater where the dungeon had been and Magna winced. It looked like the whole dungeon collapsed upon itself. No wonder Captain Yami brought Captain Charlotte. With Captain Charlotte's vines, she could tear apart the ground. Too bad Sol was already off on another mission, she'd be even better to have around at that moment.

Everyone broke into pairs to search the surrounding area. If anyone could pull off survival from a collapsing underground cave, it would be Asta. Mimosa and Noelle went in one direction, Captain Yami went another, Captain Charlotte went her own, and Magna and Luck went north.

"Do you think we're going to be fighting any strong people?!"

"Not the time, you nut," said Magna, rolling his eyes at his best friend and rival. "See if you can sense Secre's magic."

"But she can hide it really well," said Luck, complaining.

Magna sighed. "Luck, focus. This is a search-and-rescue mission, not a fighting an enemy one."

"Geez, Magna, I know," said Luck. "But knowing Asta, he definitely ran into someone strong."

There was no argument to that—Asta always managed to find himself against strong opponents. "Fine. Let's keep looking for anything." Magna looked at the ground to see if he could find any traces of footprints. He was not the best tracker, but he knew enough.

"Hey, I see some smoke," said Luck, grabbing Magna's arm suddenly to make him stop walking. Luck was right. Where there was smoke there was fire. Magna and Luck sent off a blast of both their magic to tell the Captains, Noelle and Mimosa that they found something. The two rushed towards the smoke.

"Everyone is coming," said Luck.

Finally they found a clearing where a campfire was roaring with a whole boar being cooked over it. And sitting there was Asta and Secre and a mysterious red-haired and black-eyed man. Asta spotted them first.

"Luck-senpai! Magna-senpai! Hey! What are you guys doing here?!"

Magna rushed forward and grabbed both his juniors in a hug. "You idiots, why the hell didn't you send a message?!"

"Ahh, can't breathe," coughed Asta. Secre just stayed still. Magna released them. Just then, Captain Yami, Captain Charlotte, Mimosa and Noelle arrived. Captain Yami looked pissed.

"What the fuck were you two doing?!"

"Ah, Captain Yami! Oh, hey, Noelle, Mimosa," said Asta, grinning like an idiot. "Oh, Captain Charlotte, hi too." Only Captain Charlotte looked any sort of amused, while Captain Yami, Mimosa and Noelle were glowering at Asta's nonchalant greetings. Noelle charged at Asta, so Magna moved out of the way. She bopped Asta on the head, not meanly or hard enough to do any damage (though she had a nasty right hook), and then hugged him.

"We were worried! And here you are camping," scolded Noelle.

Asta hugged her back, laughing. "I'm sorry, sorry, really! It's been a crazy few days. Secre can explain better than me."

"So who's this guy," asked Magna, pointing at the mysterious guy, who was quietly watching everything and eating a piece of boar meat.

"That's Ember," said Asta. Ember, the mysterious guy, waved slightly but didn't say anything. "But we'll come to him later. Secre, tell them everything!"

Secre rolled her eyes. "Fine. We have plenty of meat, please eat. I'll explain everything as clearly as possible. Though, Captain Yami, Lady Noelle, Lady Mimosa, Mister Magna, Mister Luck, Captain Charlotte, we are sorry that we didn't send a message, we had no means."

"Apology accepted," chorused everyone, because who could stay mad at either Secre or Asta? They were safe, that was all that mattered.

"Anyway," continued Secre. "While Asta and I were investigating the dungeon, I discovered that it was a man-made one. Meaning that wizards forced the dungeon to appear before it was ready, making it unstable. It started coming apart while Asta and I were in the main chamber."

"There was like lava and the rocks were falling and there was a lot of rumbling," said Asta. "We definitely almost died, it was scary."

Secre nodded in agreement. "But then, we were shocked to find that as the ground cracked some more out came a magnificent magical creature, a dragon! The dragon was the cause of the lava. The dungeon was actually a dragon's lair and because wizards forced it up above ground, it woke up the dragon."

Magna had a strange feeling, eyes flickering over to the quiet Ember, who was listening just as intently to the story.

"The dragon grabbed us and busted us out of the collapsing dungeon," continued Secre. "Thankfully, the dragon was smart enough to us cloaking magic so no one saw. The big crater was due to the collapse and the breakout."

"Me and Secre thought we were going to be eaten," said Asta, shaking his head.

"Dragons don't eat humans, I honestly don't know where you got that from," said Ember, finally speaking. He had a deep, rumbling voice. "At least, I wouldn't eat humans. They are too gamey."

"As you can tell, Ember is the dragon that saved us," said Secre, nodding. "Ember was able to land us down, transfigure into a human form to be able to hide and talk."

Everyone just looked at each other. Captain Yami and Captain Charlotte were stunned. Noelle and Mimosa looked very worried. Luck was vibrating with joy, probably excited about the prospect of fighting an actual dragon. Magna did not know what to think. He heard stories about dragons, he was certain they all knew the stories. His Ma use to tell him them when he was a boy. She'd definitely get a kick out of meeting an actual dragon.

"Nice to meet you, Ember," said Noelle, finally remembering her manners. "Thank you for saving Asta and Secre."

Ember titled his head, but not in confusion. "You're welcome, Princess." The way the dragon said 'princess' was strange, almost like he knew Noelle personally and that he was fond of her. Noelle flushed at the tone.

"Uhh, Ember, how do you know Noelle is a Royal," asked Asta. Magna could tell that Asta sensed the same thing. Despite Asta not being in love with Noelle, he loved her and he was very protective of her.

Ember shook his head, as if realizing that he said something weird. "Ah, apologies that was too familiar, Your Highness."

"Who," Secre and Asta asked, at the same time, curiosity getting the better of them. Magna wanted to know too.

"Oh," said Ember, black eyes turning to Mimosa, "Ah, forgive me, for not addressing you as well, Your Majesty." Mimosa startled and flushed.

"Wait, wait, back up," said Magna. He was getting headache. "Dragon-man, you're telling me that Noelle and Mimosa both look like women you used to know?"

"Silvamillion Clover sisters were my charges 2000 years ago, if my timeline is correct, from what Young Asta and Miss Secre told me," said Ember, thoughtfully. "I raised them as my daughters. The oldest looked exactly like you." He pointed at Mimosa. "And the younger looked exactly like you." He, then, pointed at Noelle.

Noelle and Mimosa traded looks. Noelle spoke up, "They wouldn't have been named Ceres and Rheya Silvamillion Clover?"

Ember finally smiled. "Yes, Queen Ceres and her sister Princess Rheya! Ah, I'm so glad they are remembered."

Mimosa grabbed Noelle's hand. The two cousins wore similar expressions on their faces. Magna did not like it at all—especially since Mimosa and Noelle were not open about how much they actually cared about each other, at least in public. "Um, are you Sindra the Bonecrusher?"

"The WHAT?" Everyone else looked horrified.

"Sindra," asked Ember, thoughtfully. Then he growled, like very loudly, almost like he would in his dragon form. "What did he do, Your Highnesses?"

Magna tensed. He knew the name. Sindra the Bonecrusher attacked the Clover Capital—thirty years into the reign of Queen Ceres. The dragon killed Ceres, but definitely had been massively wounded (or died, depending on the version) after Ceres' sister Rheya went batshit insane (how Magna's mother explained it) on it. Rheya died from their wounds a couple of days later. Thankfully, they had both been married and had children already, so the Royal family line hadn't been broken. At least, Magna thought, this dragon was not the same one from the story.

Mimosa explained what everyone, even Secre knew, in soft, calming tones.

"His name is not Sindra the Bonecrusher. His real name is Cinders," said Ember, eyes flickering different colors now. "He was my…uhhh, it's complicated. Did he die?"

"We don't really know, it's been so long," said Noelle, softly.

"He really did it. He really killed my girls," Ember said, softly. "Well, if Cinders is still alive out there, I'll have to kill him." Magna did not blame the dragon-man in the least.

"So," said Asta, smiling. "Can we keep him, Captain?"

Magna slapped his forehead, because of course, Asta would ask that question.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Common Realm**  
**The Town of Oxley**  
**22nd Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Finral was not surprised to see Asta and Secre, safe and sound. He had full faith in both of them. He was glad that everyone came back alright, and he was not worried about the mysterious red-head at the moment (it was probably a new squad member, another weirdo but good people type), because he just got a message from Marx. They were all needed.

"Captain Yami, Captain Charlotte, uhh, there's been some bad news," said Finral, wringing his hands together.

"What happened now," Captain Yami asked annoyed.

"Captains and Vice-Captains meeting ASAP. The Spade Kingdom declared war on the Heart Kingdom. Captain Nozel and Vanessa got captured by Spade Kingdom assassins, according to Sal and Levi. And "Edward" is still stuck in the Heart Kingdom," said Finral, all in one breathe. He was really glad that he was not spitting up flowers anymore. "Magic Parliament is in session. The Heart Kingdom hadn't declared war back yet.

"Well, portal now," said Captain Yami and Captain Charlotte, immediately, in unison. If the two of them on the same wavelength wasn't scary, Finral did not know what was.

Finral nodded and opened a portal to Capital City. Everyone rushed through it, except Asta lingered. Asta hugged Finral quickly. "I'm so glad you're better." Finral chuckled. "It's good to have you back."

"Thanks, Asta," said Finral. "Come on, let's go."

He was mainly worried about Vanessa. She was his best friend, what would he do without her? He just got better too and already felt his blood-pressure skyrocketing. And he didn't even tell Captain Yami that he let Finesse move into the Black Bulls' base either.

Finral's feet hit the ground at the Magic Knight Headquarters.

"What do you mean that I have to babysit the dragon-man, Captain?!"

Poor Magna, he thought amused. Finral was glad to be back in action.

"Wait…the new guy's a dragon!?"

Maybe there was still time to hide in the infirmary…

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Captains' Meeting Room**  
**22nd Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

This was a really all-hands-on-deck situation, Dorothy thought to herself. She hadn't seen the Captains' Meeting Room this full in ages. Since Kirsch was out of commission, she brought Levi along since he will not be doing anything other than paperwork until his mana exhaustion was better.

Since Nozel was not there for obvious reasons, Vivian (the Vice-Captain) brought along Nebra Silva. In Yuno's place there were William, Langris and Mimosa. Other than the other Captains and the Vice-Captains, Asta, Noelle Silva, Sal Vermillion, Aldebrand Vermillion, Bennett Vermillion (Fuegoleon's cousin, Dorothy knew), and Marx were all in attendance as well.

They were just waiting for Fuegoleon to show up with news from the Magic Parliament, where she was sure he was getting a big old headache from the bullshit there.

"He's late! We should be talking about how we are going to rescue Big Brother," complained Nebra. Dorothy could tell that she was full of nervous energy.

"And Miss Vanessa," said Noelle. Dorothy was glad to see that Noelle sat next to her sister Nebra and was holding her hand in comfort. It was a long time coming.

"The Wizard King already sent a capable duo to rescue them," said Marx, interjected.

"If he's not here in five minutes, I'm out," stated Yami, some of his mana was leaking out that even Dorothy knew not to comment. Vanessa was near and dear to Yami's heart, that must was certain, just like all of the Black Bulls.

"Now, hold on," started Marx. As Yami and Marx began to argue, Dorothy realized that Levi was off in the corner talking to Sal. Noelle was consoling Nebra, while Vivian was busy reading a tome that definitely had nothing to do with the meeting or current situations.

Mereoleona was getting annoyed with everyone being loud, as her mana began spiking. "IF YOU DON'T ALL SHUT UP, I'M GONNA KILL YOU."

"Cousin Mereo, calm down," said Bennett Vermillion, in an even tone. Bennett was about the same age as Fuegoleon. He was a cousin (or second cousin). He had short, neatly kept vermillion hair and blue eyes. He was just as handsome as Fuegoleon.

"Are you telling me to calm the fuck down," snarled Mereoleona.

"Yes. Because Fuegoleon is on his way, right now," said Bennett.

Dorothy remembered now that Bennett was the best tracker in the kingdom and his mana-detecting senses were second-to-none. Mereoleona glared but clamped her mouth shut. Even Yami and Marx stopped arguing.

"I'm here," said Fuegoleon, entering the room. "Sorry I'm late. But we have a lot to discuss."

"Who did ya send to rescue Nozel and Vanessa," asked several people, immediately to Fuegoleon at once.

Fuegoleon sighed. Dorothy felt bad for him—Sal, his wife Dorothy had to remind herself, shot Fuegoleon some worried looks. "I sent Nickole Vermillion and Zora Ideale. Nickole because she's been there before and Zora because despite the way he looks knows how to blend it."

"Oh God, Zora will definitely save them," said Finral, sighing. Dorothy knew that Finral was not up for a mission like that just yet. Asta, Noelle, Nebra and Yami all felt differently, not that they didn't trust Zora, but because they were definitely planning a trip to save Nozel and Vanessa.

"You sent my mother," demanded Mimosa, who never was disrespectful to anyone of authority ever. Langris and William put each a hand on Mimosa's shoulder to make sure that she didn't stand up, furious.

Charlotte interjected. "Lady Nickole is one of the best fighters in the Blue Rose Knights, aside from myself, Lady Mimosa. You need not worry. She's faced many and was victorious." Mimosa gritted her teeth.

"Sorry, sir, continue."

Fuegoleon shot his little cousin a soft look, before continued, "So as you were briefed, the Spade Kingdom captured Nozel and Vanessa during the mission to get the Queen of Hearts safely through her magical barrier border. The Queen of Hearts overcame the curse and she is healthy again. Unfortunately, shortly thereafter, the Spade Kingdom sent an official Declaration of War." Everyone in the room nodded.

Dorothy hated wars.

Fuegoleon sighed, "The Heart Kingdom officially sent the Spade Kingdom a Declaration of War of their own. This puts us, the Heart Kingdom's ally, in a bind. The Magic Parliament already decided. The decision is to provide any provisions of food or water for the people of the Heart Kingdom, but not to get involved militarily as the matter between the Spade and Heart Kingdom is more personal. In addition, the Magic Parliament decreed to leave Nozel and Vanessa where they were."

"WHAT?"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

Dorothy could feel the anger in the room of every single one. No Magic Knight would ever want to leave another to die. Not this people in the room, at least.

"Relax, they don't know I sent Zora or Aunt Nickole," said Fuegoleon, calming asserting his authority as Wizard King, "already. I send them for more than just their skills. In addition, another order was given to me by the Magic Parliament."

Dorothy was afraid to find out.

"Concerning the Black Bulls and Silver Eagles' Magic Knight Squads," said Fuegoleon, reading off one of the papers he came into the room carrying. "If the squad as a whole makes the executive decision to disregard the orders of the Magic Parliament concerning the fate of Captain Nozel Silva and the witch Vanessa Enoteca and enter the Spade Kingdom unlawfully, the two squads would be disbanded and banished from the Clover Kingdom henceforth."

Dorothy sucked in a breath and looked at the contrite expressions on the Black Bulls and Silver Eagles' faces. This was not going to end well.

"What about Zora," Asta yelled, over the murmuring and grumbling of the meeting room. "Or Mimosa's Mom?! What'll happen if the Magic Parliament finds out that they went into the Spade Kingdom?"

"Rest your fears about that part," interjected Aldebrand. "We have a technical go around should they discover the mission. As Fuego acted accordingly as Wizard King upon immediately finding out about two of his captured Knights, they cannot be held accountable for whatever the Magic Parliament decrees after the fact. So Mr. Ideale and Nickole will not get in trouble, in other words."

"Do you really expect me to sit around and wait for someone else to rescue them, to let my aunt and my teammate go into danger without backup," Noelle asked, standing up.

"You will," said Fuegoleon, giving Noelle a stern look. Noelle did not balk.

Dorothy thought Noelle never looked more like Acier in that moment of defiance. Acier would be so proud of Noelle. Really, Acier would just be so proud of all her kids and everything they had to overcome. Dotty caught Charlotte and Mereoleona's eyes. She suspected they both were thinking the same thing—Mereoleona even more so as she had been close with Acier.

"I'm with Noelle on this," said Mimosa, standing up, despite William and Langris' best efforts to hold her back.

Dorothy smiled.

Then, Marx startled as Julius's young face appeared on a magical mirror/screen/whatever. Everyone stopped bickering, talking and the like as Marx opened the magical communication to Julius, sitting next to the Queen of Hearts in her office.

"Julius," asked Fuegoleon, confused.

"_I suspect the Magic Parliament sent their decision?"_

"Yes, unfortunately."

"_Let us have the news then,"_ said the Queen of Hearts.

**Heart Kingdom**  
**The Red Palace**  
**The Queen of Hearts' Office**  
**22nd Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Julius listened with rapt attention to Fuegoleon explaining everything that the Magic Parliament declared. While he was worried about Nozel and Vanessa, he knew that if anyone would be fine in the fighting pits in the Spade Kingdom, it would be the both of them. Julius was not very surprised with the decrees.

"Well, it is as we figured," said Ophie, sighing, as Fuegoleon paused to scold both Yami and Jack who somehow started a fight.

Julius sighed.

"As the reigning monarch of the Heart Kingdom, it is my duty to protect and serve my people," said Ophie, more to him than the listeners back in Clover. "We have chosen to declare war back, but hope that it actually doesn't come to combat on the ground. I will not let the Spade Kingdom push me around and bully my people. Any aid from Clover would be very much appreciate, of course, we will accept the food and water that you can spare. I wouldn't expect military aid from Clover, when it is a matter between the Spade King and myself."

"Fancy speech," teased Julius. "Good practice. Thankfully they are not listening." Fuegoleon was scolding several people at once.

"Uhh, your brats are the worst," said Ophie, grinning. "I should send you back before things get worse. You are needed there. Obviously." Julius looked into the magic mirror to watch the closest people to actual family he had. They were all worried and stressed. And what was worse, Yuno and Kirsch were both out of the picture.

However, Ophie needed him too, even if she wouldn't admit it in a million years, despite her feelings for him. Maybe, if he remained here, he could stave off war. There might be something diplomatically that Ophie and himself can do to get the Spade Kingdom to back down.

"I'm staying here," declared Julius. Ophie startled and looked at him with wide-eyes. Everyone on the other end of the magical communication stopped. "I'm staying here. Ophie will need me more than you all do. I believe in each and every one of you to do the right thing for Clover and protect everyone in the Kingdom. Fuegoleon, you are a good Wizard King. You have everything you need there to guide you."

"_But sir…?"_ It was Marx.

"Ah, forgive me, Marx. Let this old man be a little selfish and help my old friend out for now. I will be back before long."

Julius watched as each Captain, Vice-Captain and Magic Knight in the room stood up, silently, and saluted him.

"_You can count on us!"_

"I know I can," Julius smiled. "I'll talk to you all soon."

**Amaryllis**  
_(Meaning) worth beyond beauty_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**22nd Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

Thank God that Mimosa and Langris told him everything. He was so worried when Asta disappeared (and Secre, but mostly he was worried about Asta). Then, everything that was happening with the Spade and Heart Kingdoms, it was not a good situation. Yuno was not able to sleep, he kept tossing and turning and vomiting up flowers.

The flowers changed again this morning. Mimosa told him that they were amaryllis flowers. They were able to blend the blood that came out with them, so it wasn't too horrifying for Mimosa or William or Langris or Klaus to clean it up.

"Yuno, you need to sleep," cautioned Bell. She was to get Mimosa from her room if anything went wrong with Yuno. Bell had her own pillow next to Yuno's pillow. "If you don't rest, you won't be able to think clearly."

"Thank you _cough_ Bell, but you should rest. You have been _cough_ _cough_ taking care of me since Mimosa is busy with Golden Dawn stuff," said Yuno. His wind spirit loved him wholly and while she can be annoying, she was strong and she cared about Yuno. Bell huffed.

She was going to say something snippy but then, the window to his room opened up and in came Asta. Asta, due to the fact that he had no magic, never set off any magical traps or whatnot. Asta climbed into the room.

"Hey, I'm glad that they moved you somewhere more comfortable," said Asta, coming to sit at the edge of Yuno's bed.

Bell grumbled, stomped her feet, but disappeared into the wind to give them privacy. Yuno gave Asta a dark look. "I thought I told you to _cough_ _cough_ pay attention on the mission. Mimosa said _cough_ you almost died."

Asta winced. "Yeah, I mean, Ember was waking up so, of course, it was dangerous. I was paying attention, we survived, didn't we?"

"Whatever," Yuno snorted irritated.

"I just came to check up on you. It's only you and Kirsch now," said Asta, green eyes softening with caring. "And I'm sure once Kirsch gets his head out of his ass, he'll be fine soon enough. It's you that I am worried about the most. Did you think about what we talked about before I left?"

"I did," replied Yuno. "Lord Fuegoleon also spoke to me."

Asta nodded. "Good, maybe you'll listen to him more than me. Whoever it is, I'll support you."

Yuno rolled his eyes. Asta too much of a good friend sometimes. The flowers kept coming out of his mouth, though. He knew that Fuegoleon was right. He didn't have time to die right now, he had responsibilities and dreams to achieve. Yuno knew that he had to tell Asta how he felt. When Asta denied him, he'll just have to hope for someone to find out a different cure for this particular curse.

"Asta…" started Yuno.

"Yuno! Anyway, I also came to say goodbye for now," said Asta, serious.

Yuno stopped. "Uh, what?"

"The Black Bulls are leaving Clover Kingdom for now. We're going to the Spade Kingdom to rescue Nozel and Vanessa and be Zora and Miss Nickole's backup," said Asta, nodding. "Then, we need to find a way to stop the Heart and Spade Kingdoms from going to actual war! And if you're not better when I get back, I will devote everything into finding a cure for you, Yuno. Count on it."

"Wait, Asta, that's not _cough_ _cough_ a good idea. Mimosa told me _cough_ _cough_ what the Magic _cough_ _cough_ Parliament said. You all will be exiled," said Yuno, coughing heavily. Asta was leaving?! Yuno was just about to confess and Asta was going to do something stupid.

"We know. I know. That's why you have to get better Yuno. You have to make sure to look after Sister Lily and the rest in Hage," said Asta, reaching for Yuno to give him a quick hug. "Until I get back, that is! The Magic Parliament won't get rid of us that easily."

"The _cough_ _cough_ Magic Parliament hates you, Asta, _cough_ _cough_ because of the demon in your grimoire. You can't give them _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ more of a reason to hate you."

Asta scoffed. "To me, they don't matter. I know they are just doing what they think is best for the Clover Kingdom. But so I am. It'll all work out, Yuno, trust me on this, alright? I still intend to be the Wizard King, this is just a rocky path."

Yuno shook his head, forcing the tears back. "You're a moron."

"And you're a handsome talented jerk, who is my rival," said Asta, smiling widely at him. "I have got to go. It's a long trip in Henry's house."

"Don't die before you see me become Wizard King."

"Well, that won't happy because I'll be Wizard King. Don't die before then. Promise, Yuno," said Asta. He hugged Yuno once more, tighter and it almost felt like a final goodbye. "Don't die because of flowers, doofus."

Before Yuno knew it or could say anything more, Asta was heading back out the window to meet up with his squad. Bell came out of hiding, with a contrite look on her face.

Yuno, for the time since he was a small boy, cried himself to sleep.

Stupid Asta.

**Spade Kingdom**  
**At the border between the Spade Kingdom and the Neutral Zone**  
**23rd Day of the Curse**  
**Dawn, Foggy**

Zora had never been outside of the Clover Kingdom. Granted, he was too busy rooting out corrupt scumbags in the Magic Knights to travel outside of Clover Kingdom. The only times he ventured out of Clover was into the Neutral Zone for various missions. He supposed why it was why Fuegoleon sent Nickole Vermillion with him.

It was unsettling, to be honest, Zora thought to himself. This woman was Mimosa and Kirsch's mother, but she didn't look much like either of her children (except Zora noted the sharp jawline that her son inherited, while Mimosa's face was round and cute-looking that she got from her father). In fact, if Zora did not know better, Nickole could have passed as Noelle and her siblings' mother. Then again, Nickole was the younger-by-a-year sister of Acier Silva. Unlike the stories he heard of Acier and knowing from first-hand experience of Mimosa and Kirsch's personalities, Nickole was a serious and skilled Magic Knight of the Blue Rose Squad, 1st Class Senior Magic Knight.

"Once we enter the Spade Kingdom, the fog cover is going to grow," said Nickole as they flew towards the border. "It'll be basically impossible to fly from here on out, so we'll have to walk."

"Do you happen to know exactly where this Coliseum is in these parts," asked Zora, raising an eyebrow.

"I do. I have been there before," said Nickole, nodding. Zora did not need to know why one of the royals was hanging out in fighting pits in another kingdom. It was something more expected of Mereoleona, however. "We need to hurry before Yami lets the rest of the Black Bulls do something stupid."

Zora almost cackled, because he was sure that his squadmates were about to come charging in after them, but then again, it was a serious matter, so he just said, "You're right. Let's get Vanessa and Captain Braid-boy back before we have a bigger mess to clean up later."

Nickole nodded. And together, the odd duo landed on the ground, hid their brooms and entered the Spade Kingdom by foot. It was going to be a long trek.

_Ch. End_


	6. Chapter 6

SPOILERS

So everything's canon divergent for real now. My Heart Kingdom is clearly different than the canon Heart Kingdom. I just didn't expect to get to the Heart Kingdom. I swore I thought they were going to go to Spade Kingdom next, but ah well.

Also, believe me or not, I guessed that Acier's death had something to do with a devil/demon, so it's in here, but I planned it before the reveal in the manga (shrugs)

WARNINGS: HEAVY ANGST IN SPOTS, MENTION OF KIDNAPPINGS, POWs

* * *

**FLASHBACK**  
**19 Years Ago**  
**Kingdom of Clover**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Silva Homestead**  
**November 13th, two days before the birth of Noelle Silva**

"She's getting so big. My little niece is so cute," said Acier, cooing at Nickole's baby in her arms. Acier was pale and looked like death and she was nearly bursting at nine months pregnant. The baby was due any day. Nickole hated to see her older sister in such a weak state. "She's really so beautiful, Neeks."

Nickole took Mimosa from her sister's arms. Mimosa was only three months old and Nickole loved her immensely. She held her baby girl close, as she spoke to her sister. "Thanks. She's a quieter baby than Kirsch. Though, if she's upset, she definitely lets me know."

Acier laughed softly. "I'm glad that you're happy with being a mom. I know that wasn't what you wanted. You married Sazerac for me, so I could marry Argent."

Nickole sighed. "We don't need to keep rehashing this, Acier. I'm fine. I have my position in the Blue Rose Knights and I have my kids. That's all I need."

"Hmm," said Acier, humming. "You'll look after mine, right?"

"Shut up, don't be stupid. Of course, yours, mine, don't matter, I'll take care of them," said Nickole, snapping at her sister. "Our kids are our kids. If it was the other way around, you'd look after Kirsch and Mimosa."

Acier smiled, weakly. "You're the best."

"No, you're the best," said Nickole, honestly. "I don't know what I'm going to do without you." She and Acier had been impossibly close as sisters. Being the illegitimate children, and then suddenly recognized children of a noble (when their father's first son had become a disappointment) had not been an easy life. Nickole and Acier were noble by birth but their mother was a commoner, who thought that she was getting a fairytale when their father starting flirting with her. Their father was an unloving man and their mother was a ditz. The only reason they even managed to not be sent off to God knows where as babies had been thanks to their step-mother's kindness, the actual wife of their father.

But there step-mother's kindness only went so far, as it went with adults.

Therefore, Acier and Nickole only had each other, until they managed to get themselves accepted by the Blue Rose Knights. Acier was exceptional, eventually landing herself the Captain of the Silver Eagles, while Nickole was content with rising to be a 1st Class Senior Magic Knight.

Nickole watched her sister breakdown into tears, after Nickole's confession. "I'm so, so sorry, Neeks. I don't want to leave you all."

"It's not your fault," said Nickole, soothingly. "I…will be ok. And Lady Solace will help me, if I need it."

"Thank Goodness, Solace is a god-send in this den of royals," said Acier, grinning, as she moved to lay down, instead of being sitting up. "Mereo's upset at me."

"She looks up to you," said Nickole, wisely. "Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on her, despite me suddenly having six kids."

Acier laughed. "I love you, sis."

"Love you too, you reckless sister of mine."

**Back to Present**  
**Heart Kingdom**  
**The Red Palace**  
**The Grand Heart Library**  
**24th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Julius regretted not letting Ophie take him into the meetings, but it would look strange if the random Clover Kingdom Magic Knight, who was only 16, was present in Heart Kingdom state meetings. It was not that Julius was unable to occupy his time. He had plenty to do, because somehow Ophie pawned half of her non-classified paperwork off on him, while he was busy researching in the library on some obscure law that could possibly work in their favor to avoid war.

No, the problem was Prince Jules. The young Prince was everywhere around Julius these days, even intruding on the normally private conversations. It had been that way since Ophie told Prince Jules that "Edward Kairos" would be staying on as an assistant to her, thanks to the grace of the Wizard King of Clover. The young Prince just did not like him.

Prince Jules was also sharp as a tact and quite observant. He, as King of the Heart Kingdom, would be formidable as he got older.

It was unnerving, as he sat in the library with Prince Jules sitting in a nearby chair, not really doing anything but watching Julius work. And here he thought that he was good with kids. After all, Yami and William and the others had taken to him in their teenage years.

Ignoring the fact that Julius looked at Prince Jules and saw Ophie in all his features, which made Julius immediately fond of the boy, he couldn't live like this if he were to stay for the duration of this situation. "Prince Julian, do you require something of me?"

Prince Jules raised an eyebrow, one of the many mannerisms he picked up from spending too much time with his mother, and he said, "Well, I doubt that Mom would want you to get lonely while she's busy with her Queenly duties, _Lord Kairos_."

"Ah-ha," laughed Julius, nervously. "Well, no need for such formalities. Just call me Edward. We are, after all, the same age, Prince Julian."

Prince Jules smirked. "Oh, are we? Should I just call you Uncle Julius then?"

Julius didn't have enough mana to even turn back the time of this conversation. He hated being back to square one. It's been a slow process of gaining his power and abilities back. Ophie would probably be annoyed at him, but, he was not going to have Prince Jules hate him this whole time. "Please don't call me Uncle in front of other people, Jules. How did you figure it out?"

Snorting, Prince Jules rolled his eyes. "Mom only has one friend outside of the Kingdom. You both seemed to buddy-buddy to have only met recently. And you talk like an old man, and not like a kid."

"Ah well," said Julius. "Let's just be discreet about it."

"No shit," said Prince Jules, glaring daggers at him. "I hope you apologized to Mom. You made her cry, you know. When you "died." She mourned you. Wouldn't get out of bed for two days after the news broke."

"I did."

"Well, she may forgive you, but Uncle Julius," said Prince Jules, standing up and pointing at him. "I'm watching you. I don't care who the hell you are but my Mom is the most important person to me. I won't let anyone hurt her anymore."

Julius smiled. "You're a good son, Jules. Why don't you help me do some research? I'm thinking of a terrible plan to get us all out of a war situation."

"Fine."

**Spade Kingdom**  
**Coliseum**  
**24th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Okay, you worthless pieces of trash, here are the damn rules, again, 'cause we got some new prisoners," said one of the guards, standing before the shackled and mana-blocked prisoners from the Heart, Diamond and Clover Kingdoms. Vanessa felt crowded in the near the entrance to the amphitheater. Not only did most of these people seem like they hadn't a proper bath in months, she heard the thundering of the crowd above in the stands. "There are no weapons, no magic. Everything is hand-to-hand. Battle royale style, the last man standing wins. Killing allowed."

Vanessa felt sick to her stomach. Nozel grabbed her wrist to steady her. He whispered in her ear, "We stick together."

She nodded. She just had to think like Asta. Asta grew up without magic. She and Nozel had magic and now they had no access to their mana. Having no magic was hard. She just respected Asta more for working so hard to make a name for himself, while staying true to himself. Vanessa wanted to go home and give him a big, smothering hug.

"ALRIGHT, MOVE OUT, HEATHENS," roared the guards, as the gate creakily opened and the prisoners trickled out to the ring, across the bridge that showed them water around the ring.

The first thing Vanessa noted was that he was gray and cold. She had heard that the Spade Kingdom was always winter or near it. Not only was she going to be fighting in a fight that she doesn't want to be in, now she'll be cold.

Once everyone was out on the ring, the gate closed behind them and the shackles came magically off of them. The spell blocking their mana was, however, still in place.

"_Welcome citizens of the greatest kingdom in the lands, Spade! Today we got two new prisoners to watch struggle in out Battle Royale! Hailing from the Clover Kingdom, we got one of them fancy royals from House Silva, the Captain of the Silver Eagles Magic Knights squad, Nozel Silva. And we also have the beautiful witch, daughter of the Witch Queen herself, Vanessa Enoteca of the Black Bulls Magic Knights squad. Will they survive? Well, no matter, Battle Royale Start,"_ said announcer through some sort of sound magic, no doubt. _"Last one standing wins!"_

Vanessa almost covered her ears when a loud booming sound started the Battle Royale. Both she and Nozel barely had time to assess the situation, as men and women were already flying off the ring into the pool of water surrounding it.

Were those sharks in that water?

"Oh, Sonovabitch," said Vanessa, whacking one of the incoming people with large smacks to the head. "Captain Nozel, there's actual sharks in that water."

"Don't fall in, then," said Nozel, unhelpfully.

The ring was a mess. There were all sorts of people in the ring, fighting for their lives. Vanessa and Nozel didn't have time to talk. Vanessa had to dodge and take out some of the men that were targeting her. Nozel had more people attacking him. The others were clearly ganging up on them, since they were new and from the Clover Kingdom. The other Clover Kingdom prisoners were all the way on the other side of the ring.

"I gotcha, witch," snarled one of the big strong men, grabbing Vanessa and picking her up.

Vanessa promptly kicked the man in the face, causing herself to fall to the ground. The pain sat through her side as she landed on the stone ground. She was unable to get up fast enough and someone stepped on her, on purpose or maybe on accident.

Another someone grabbed her and got her upright.

"Keep moving," hissed the woman, before bolting off into the crowd. She recognized the accented Common Tongue. It was a woman from the Heart Kingdom. Why did she help Vanessa?

But she had no time to think about it, as the ring started to shake. Someone out there had some sort of earth magic and it was just making things harder for everyone. Then the ring was raised and titled causing anyone not balanced to immediately slide into the water. Vanessa barely managed to hang on a lose piece of tile.

Her fingers strained against the tile, praying that it would stay.

Suddenly, the ring was moving again, this time to go up right, balanced and even again. Vanessa stood up, shakily and froze.

Where was Nozel? She whipped around and found that he was fishing himself out of the water near the gate while the Heart Kingdom wizard fought off a shark with her bare hands. Sighing, she was glad that Noelle's brother was safe.

"_Well, look at that folks! THE CLOVER WITCH IS THE LAST ONE STANDING!"_

Wait, what?

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Raquey**  
**24th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Sal sat in a bistro, hair hidden under a cap, and a fake pair of glasses on her face. Since she had taken a break from the investigation of the former Heart Kingdom citizens living in Clover Kingdom, she had to find some of them again that were always on the move. Sal knew that most of them were perfectly fine people who left the Heart Kingdom for one reason or another and wanted a new life in Clover.

She bit into the breadstick and grimaced at the staleness of it. Some of these Noble Realm shops were such scams. The rouge Curse wizard's name in the Clover Kingdom was Radcliffe Laibrook and it was any wonder that no one noticed how fake that name sounded. Sal was following Radcliffe's last known associate, former ex-Heart Kingdom Special Forces Captain Oira Stowe. The other two checked out as completely normal people who did nothing suspicious (so she may have entered their house while they were at the market and found nothing).

Oira Stowe was ex-military and that may be a problem because Sal found in Oira's apartment early a pamphlet preaching anti-monarchy and anti-noble sentiment. While she knew there was some well-built-in problems in the rigid magic-based class system, being a commoner herself, it was dangerous talk, considering that the last few years for Clover had been rocky times at best. It was understandable that some were not happy with being cannon fodder from the Magic Knights and the Clover King's enemies.

However, the only reason that everyone in the Clover Kingdom was still alive was because of some Magic Knights (Asta, the Black Bulls and Yuno in particular).

So far today, Sal felt like Oira knew that someone was following her, while Sal had to change her disguise every thirty minutes. It was honestly time-consuming—Oira was in her forties, probably the same age as the Queen of Hearts. She wondered if that had anything to do with it. Sal knew from experience that Queens and Kings had to do some things that were unsavory for reasons.

Oira went into a stationary shop and hadn't come out again, for the last ten minutes. Was she getting more copies of the pamphlet made? If this spread to the populace, the literate populace, it wouldn't be bad. Most people lived like they had blinders on and they didn't see the bigger picture or they just cared for themselves and the ones close to them.

"Miss, another cup of coffee," asked her waitress, who definitely wasn't her waitress earlier.

Sal nodded, as the young woman poured it. Sal Vermillion was no idiot. She knew who exactly this young woman was and she was not a waitress. Mariella was a Diamond-wizard on the run with her mentor and his wife and the former possessed member of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, Fana. What Mariella was doing here was beyond Sal, but if there was one thing that Asta assured them (meaning Julius, Fuego and therein, Sal) was that Fanzell, Mariella, Fana and Dominante were on the side of Clover. And they trusted Asta's word.

Oira Stowe came out of the stationary shop, empty-handed.

Was this another dead end?

Sal sighed. She had to leave the new cup of coffee behind to change her disguise again to continue following Oira. She both hated and loved investigative work.

"To-Go, then, Miss," asked Mariella pretending to be the waitress. The girl was a bad actress.

"Nah," said Sal. "Tell Fanzell to keep to himself, girlie. This ain't his business."

Mariella merely smirked. "I'll be sure to tell him, Lady Sal."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**24th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"Yuno, would you stop acting like a big baby or I'm calling Sister Lily here immediately," threatened Mimosa, furiously. She, William, Klaus, Langris and Finesse (who was here as a guest of Langris temporarily, while the Black Bulls did some stupid stuff) were standing in Yuno's room at the Golden Dawn Headquarters, while Bell was comfortably resting on Yuno's shoulder.

"Go away, _cough_ can't you leave me in peace," Yuno asked, deadpan, sitting at his desk. "And don't you dare get Sister Lily."

"For the Lord's sake, I will move your entire village into this base," said Mimosa. She was in complete lecturing mode and after meeting her mother in the infirmary, Yuno saw the resemblance between them. "Langris can get them here in an instant. Now will you just come down to have lunch with us and socialize with everyone? I know you're upset that Asta is doing something stupid. I'm pissed at Noelle right. Langris and Finesse are mad at Finral. And Captain William is mad at Yami, but you don't see us holed up in our rooms sulking. We brought you home so you could be more comfortable and not be confined to bed."

Yuno glared at his second best friend. "If it gets_ cough_ _cough_ _cough_ you to stop invading _cough_ my _cough_ personal space, fine. _cough_ _cough_ But don't expect me to talk _cough_ to anyone."

Mimosa frowned. "Fine. Now, did the flowers change again?"

"Not yet," said Yuno. He held his chest, instinctively, feeling the continuing build-up of flowers in his lungs. Asta was on his mind all the time since the other night. He just prayed that Zora and Lady Nickole made it to wherever Vanessa and Nozel were imprisoned to rescue them. "And _cough_ you are going to let me walk."

Mimosa relented. He knew that she didn't like arguing much, and got tired of it easy. He just had to wait her out long enough. She stormed out of the room, muttering under her breath. Finesse went after her.

William and Langris gave him hard looks.

"You had better be careful not to push her anymore," said Langris, knowing first-hand what it was like to piss off Mimosa Vermillion. "Stop this pity party. You're not the only one suffering from this shit."

"She just cares about you. And she's got a lot worries right now with Asta, Zora, and her mother and Noelle and Nozel," said William, slightly scolding, but in a soft way.

Yuno frowned. He was going to have to talk to Mimosa to apologize for being difficult. And maybe, she could tell him what he should do about his feelings for Asta. He was going to confess the other night when Asta was still here, but maybe he should go after Asta and tell him before things got worse for him.

The petals already turned to full flower heads. Once the flowers came out with stems he was royally screwed and near death.

He coughed again, as he followed his former Captain and his Vice-Captain out of the room to the communal dining area.

**FLASHBACK**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Office of the Wizard King**  
**2 years ago**

"Congratulations, Yuno. With William Vangeance stepping down from his Captaincy and with your recent deeds in the War against the Elves and your actions thereafter, you proved your leadership and ability to think under pressure. I expect great things out of you," said Fuegoleon, only a year into his reign as the Wizard King.

Yuno stood there, quietly. He did know why Captain William woke him up at the crack of dawn to come to the Wizard King's office, but now Yuno knew that this was an important moment. "Thank you, sir. I'll be sure to do you both proud. But may I ask something that may be inappropriate?"

Fuegoleon and William traded looks. Fuegoleon spoke, "Go ahead. You are a Grand Magic Knight now, so speak your mind."

"Captain William, you are still in your prime. Your capability to lead the Golden Dawn had never wavered," said Yuno, eyes narrowed. "What's actually going on?"

"After the failed attempt to make Asta take the fall for everything immediately after the battle, the Magic Parliament is slowly make their way ridding those they deem dangerous but quietly," said Fuegoleon, sternly. "While the Magic Parliament and the Clover King are both powerful entities in their own ways, I am the Wizard King and there are various members of the Vermillion and Silva Houses that are backing Asta, William and others. Yuno, you have an extraordinary amount of mana. You have been exceeding leaps and bounds since becoming a Magic Knight, so don't think that I didn't earn this spot. You did."

Yuno paused. "Captain William, are you going to be staying in the Golden Dawn?"

"I will be," said William. "Patri and I are now on some sort of modified house arrest. I'll be there if you need me."

Yuno had one more question that had been bothering him the last year. "Sirs, the Magic Parliament hates Asta, don't they? They are going to go after him again because of the devil in his grimoire."

William smiled sadly. "We suspect it won't be for a while, but we had rather have his biggest supporter, namely you, in a high position. Asta's going to need your help someday."

Yuno clenched his jaw at the thought of more people trying to keep Asta down. When will people see how amazing Asta was, all the good in him? He just didn't understand people. Why did they have to be so close-minded?

Fuegoleon interjected, "Being a Captain is a huge responsibility, but one I know you'll be able to do it. Langris will remain your Vice-Captain, as he is experienced at his job, but do think about making someone else a co-Vice-Captain for yourself. Don't worry too much about the Magic Parliament. It is part of my job to protect all my Magic Knights from the dirty, political stuff. Asta is too important as a Magic Knight to lose to some nonsense prejudice, okay?"

Yuno nodded, but still unsure.

"Now, let's get you sworn in and ready to work."

**Back to Present**  
**Spade Kingdom**  
**The Great Path, the main road of the Spade Kingdom**  
**Off to the side in the woods**  
**25th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning, not that you could tell because it was cloudy, foggy, wet and cold**

It was honestly strange to be on a mission with someone who was not only competent at their job as a Magic Knight, but also not crazy stupid or insane. Despite what the mission being, Zora found that he didn't mind the quiet presence of Nickole Vermillion. The older woman only spoke about the mission. There was no idle chit-chat, something Zora despised, especially on missions with people he didn't know.

They stopped a little ways off of the Spade Kingdom's main road, known as the Great Path, to eat. Zora hadn't wanted to stop, but Nickole insisted that they rest and eat enough, so Zora relented and agreed to stop for ten minutes so they could rest, drink some water, and eat something.

Zora hadn't been in the habit of packing too much food, since he always had to travel light, but Charmy made crackers that didn't go bad quickly. Whenever Zora went back to base, there was always a restock of light but filling food for Zora to take on his missions.

"Here, have some beef jerky," said Nickole, handing him some of the dried meat from her neatly packed small bag of food. Nickole was a Magic Knight similar to him it seemed, one that was always on the move. Nickole packed for a mission really well, but light for easy movement.

Zora took it. "Thanks." He munched on it, enjoying the salty meat flavor. He recognized this particular flavor because it had some other spices in it that didn't come from a butcher's beef jerky. He had eaten this before when he was missions with Mimosa or Kirsch. "So, you're the one that taught Kirsch and Mimosa how to make beef jerky."

Nickole finally smiled at the mention of her children. It wasn't a big bright smile, but it was a smile. "Well, most Magic Knights have a bad habit of forgetting to pack food on missions. I wasn't having those two be that stupid."

Zora snorted. "You'd get along with Charmy then."

"I do," replied Nickole. "I've met her a lot. She's snuck into the Blue Rose base when I had happened to be there cooking for the girls, more than once."

Shaking his head, Zora replied. "Yeah, that's Charmy alright."

"I had been wondering why she asked me if I knew a recipe for crackers that stayed," said Nickole, eyeing the couple of crackers in Zora's hand. "Now I know. I'm glad that you're taking care of yourself. Mimosa and Kirsch worry about you."

Zora's felt his face get red. "Yeah, well, they don't have to…" It was always strange these days to have people care about him. For three years he had been feeling like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He had no one since his father died when he was a boy and suddenly here came these two stupid kids (Asta and Mimosa) making him feel again. And the Black Bulls latched onto him thereafter and he found that he didn't want to get rid of them. Mereoleona kidnapped him sometimes to train. And Kirsch was annoying as all hell sometimes, but maybe they were friends.

It was weird being loved again.

"Hmm, that's just their way," said Nickole, magnanimously. "Finish up eating, we have to get back to it."

**The Neutral Zone**  
**The Black Bulls moving base**  
**25th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

The Black Bulls squad was stopped for a break, so that everyone who was eating Charmy's mana-restoring food could take a breather. The only way to move the base fast enough was combining Finral's spatial magic and Henry's mana-draining disease and his building magic affinity. It was still draining on everyone, because Finral hadn't been everywhere, they could only go places that he had been before. It was still a couple days until they managed to get to the border of the Spade Kingdom with the Neutral Zone.

Asta was on lookout since he couldn't help since he had no magic. He was getting rather restless. He wanted to save Vanessa and Nozel, but he really wanted to get back to home to help Yuno. Yuno seemed so upset when Asta left.

"Hey, Little Rasta, care to come and talk to me and Finral for a few minutes," said Magna, not giving him a choice, slinging his arm around Asta to drag him to where Finral was standing, off to the side away from everyone else.

"Yeah, ok, sure," said Asta, wondering what his seniors needed from him. He wondered if it was about Miss Finesse who would be living with them once they got back to Clover. At the moment, she was staying at the Golden Dawn headquarters as it was too dangerous to bring her with them. "What's up?"

"So, ah, uh," said Finral, scratching his face. "Magna, you start."

"Really," said Magna, scoffing. "You coward. Anyway, Asta, we want to talk about Yuno."

Asta startled. "What? Is he ok? Did you get a message from the Wizard King or Mimosa or Klaus?"

Finral and Magna gave each other looks that Asta did not understand, when Magna said, "No, Klaus said he's fine, when I talked to him last. No changes in the flowers. But Asta, we have to talk about Yuno and his feelings."

Asta made a face. "Okay, why?"

Finral sighed. "Yuno's in love with someone, someone that he needs to tell his feelings to so he won't die."

Asta nodded, frowning. "Yeah, I know."

"Little buddy, you don't sound too thrilled about it," said Magna, bluntly. "You've been in a damn mood lately. Yeah, you've been smiling and carrying on like normal, but we all can tell. You're very upset."

Shaking his head, Asta said, "I'm just worried. I'm not upset that Yuno's in love with someone. It's great news! Yuno's amazing, strong, confident, handsome, so of course, he'd be in love with someone someday and be with that someone. Yuno deserves to be happy."

"Oh my God," said Finral, sighing and shaking his head in disbelief.

Magna had a pinched expression on his face. "Asta, you damned idiot!"

Asta was confused. What were his seniors talking about? Why were they so baffled and annoyed? "Uh, guys?"

"Who is Yuno in love with, Asta," asked Finral and Magna, at the same time, raising their voice just a bit.

"How am I supposed to know," snapped Asta back, sounding more pissed than he wanted. "Yuno doesn't tell me everything you know?! He's like that. He keeps things inside. If he wanted me to know, he'd tell me. He's probably shy about it, since he always had a hard time with people!" Asta did not want to talk about the mysterious person that Yuno was probably going to wind up spending the rest of his life living side-by-side with that person.

He grumbled to his seniors that he was going to the bathroom and left.

It was fine that Yuno was in love with someone.

It was.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**The Clover King's Castle**  
**The Chambers of the Magic Parliament**  
**25th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

As always, Fuegoleon hated being in chambers with the Magic Parliament. All the royal and noble house heads were members, and each noble house head were allowed to invite two people of their family to chambers, like Magic Parliament wasn't the freaking legislative and judiciary arms of Clover Kingdom. Any royal can show up whenever they wanted to do so, at their discretion. Fuegoleon's own father only ever brought Fuegoleon to teach him about how to conduct himself in the future.

It was a full house for once, even if some were there by astral projection via magic. Like usual it was loud with inter-house bickering and old grudges that last centuries. Fuegoleon was in the section reserved for the Vermillion House, despite being the Wizard King. It was apparent to him that the moment he stepped into the Chambers of the Magic Parliament, Damnatio Kira thought himself above the Wizard King, whoever was in that position. It was no secret that Damnatio hated Julius and what he stood for as Wizard King.

No wonder Julius told Fuegoleon to be on guard around the royal.

Sitting with Fuegoleon were his father Aldebrand and his second cousin Bennett.

"You think they would take this seriously for once," said a voice.

Fuegoleon turned to the sound of the voice and found his aunt standing there. Tarian Vermillion was the middle child, born after Aldebrand, and before Sazerac. She had a strong wanderlust growing up and opted out of the Magic Knight squads for the University—while she did get married and had twin boys (Fuegoleon's cousins Nathaniel and Theodore AKA Cousin Nat and Cousin Theo), as soon as the twins were walking age, she took herself and the twins on a world-tour. They come back every once in a while.

Tarian was a tall woman with vermillion hair, kept in a long braid, and blue eyes. She dressed in travelers' clothes, not even looking like she was a royal of House Vermillion.

"Glad you made it," said Aldebrand, going over to hug his sister.

"Well, when Saz messaged me telling me to get my ass back here, me and the boys hightailed over as fast as we could," said Tarian, grinning. "Considering that it took three days to convince the dock-master that we were, in fact, citizens of Clover, I'd say it was best that I came home. Shall I give that asshole Damnatio a heart-attack?"

"Oh would you," muttered Bennett, who was busy trying to write everything down going on in the meeting. The Vaudes were arguing with the Kira; the Silva were pissing off everyone; and the Clover King was whining.

Fuegoleon sighed. "Aunt Tarian, sorry about that delay at the docks. We have some temporary travel bans. This is what this meeting is about—whether or not to make a permanent inter-kingdom travel ban and a limited inter-realm travel ban."

Tarian narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms. "I haven't been home in four years, so you had better give me an update. I can handle Damnatio then. He was my student back at the University, after all. Impudent brat, thinks he's so high and mighty. I'll hand his ass to him on those scales he's so damn proud of…"

Fuegoleon now understood why his father and his uncle sent messages to their sister to bring her back home.

Damnatio had no chance in hell of winning against the might of Tarian Vermillion's scholarly might.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Silver Eagles Headquarters**  
**Office of the Vice-Captain**  
**25th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Vivian stared at the pages in her shaking hands. What was this nonsense? What had Captain Mereoleona asked her to do? She had made sure after checking the medical registry of blood types on file at the University to cover her tracks. Thank God, she was extra careful. Vivian had not minded helping Mereoleona with the girls, but doing blood tests on all three of them, with orders to keep a close eye on Blue's blood test, was pushing it.

She wouldn't even be able to tell Nebra what she found. What Vivian learned was far too dangerous for more than a handful of people to know. She breathed in and out to steady herself. She was not going to panic.

She wasn't.

"Hey! We got the Captains' Meeting to go to," said Nebra, startling Vivian out of her revere.

Vivian jumped and shoved the blood test results under one of her books on her desk, pretending she was just reorganizing something. "Yeah, I know. Just finishing some stuff up. Need to stay on top of things so Captain won't have too much to do when he comes back."

Nebra smiled and Vivian's heart-rate spiked because Nebra was actually really pretty when she smiled kindly and warmly. The two hadn't started on the right foot back when they were both fifteen and just joined the Magic Knights. Nebra originally saw Vivian as a rival. Vivian didn't want a rival. She wanted a friend. It took years, one war where everyone's lives were at risk, and a few apologies later but they were friends.

And now, Vivian was a selfish brat because she wanted so much more than that now. God, she needed to control herself.

"Big Brother will appreciate it. Let's go! Can't wait for all the drama."

"Oh my God, Nebra, no."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Captain's Meeting Room**  
**25th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Fuegoleon stood in front of the table of Captains (those that were there or their temporary placeholders) and said, "Alright, I know that we are all very mad at the Black Bulls and stressed about the impeding war, but let's focus. The Magic Parliament, after much deliberation, has decided to implement the travels bans for a year."

"Seriously this is a bad idea," said Kaiser, shaking his head. "The only thing that will do is unsettle the people and hurt businesses who rely on trade."

"Not to mention, it'll hurt those in the Forsaken Realm the most," said Dorothy. "There's three months until the next Magic Knights Exams, if the young recruits can't travel between the realms to get to the site of the exams to register on time, it'll be little choice this time."

Fuegoleon blanched. In all the chaos, he forgot about the Magic Knight Exams that were due to take place this year. "Yes, well, I think that the Magic Parliament is aware of that fact."

Charlotte scowled. "Then, if that's the case, there will be only about 5 new Magic Knights from the nobles and royals then, because that's all who's coming of age this year." Needless to say, Charlotte was indeed correct. If only nobles and royals entered the Magic Knight Exams, as they had done up to only 17 years ago, the number of Magic Knights would suffer.

They need more young wizards now these days with the increasing threats. Everyone in the room were quiet at the thought of lacking manpower in these trying times.

Thankfully, Jack knew when to break out into the silence, "So, Fuegoleon, what are you going to do to Yami when he comes back?"

Fuegoleon sighed. "I don't know. Let's just hope that before the Black Bulls can do anything stupid that Zora and Nickole rescue Nozel and Vanessa."

"Oh, nuts," said Rill, jumping up on the table, excited at his new idea. He was 20 but he was still so…youthful. "Um, um, what are we going to do about protecting Asta from the Magic Parliament? They might take it out on him again!"

"Ah, don't worry about that," grinned Mereoleona, who shown up late to the Magic Parliament meeting because no one dared challenge her. "Aunt Tarian is back and Damnatio fears her, pretty sure he wet himself when he saw her in Chambers. Besides, even if they do, we aren't going to let me mess with Asta."

"Right," agreed everyone in the room.

"SIR! CAPTAINS! We have a situation at the door of headquarters" came Marx, running into the room. Everyone automatically stood up and ready to head off the situation. "WAIT, IT'S ONLY A WOMAN!"

"What is the problem then," asked Fuegoleon.

"She's, uhh, screaming for you to come out and her magma almost broke though the steel gates," said Marx. "She kind of reminds me of someone…I can't place who…"

Fuegoleon racked his brain to remember if he had upset any women lately and came up empty. "Well, Mereoleona come with me and we'll see what the problem is. Meanwhile, the rest of you start planning the Magic Knights Exams for this year, we're behind on planning it."

Fuegoleon and Mereoleona walked after Marx, headed towards the gates of the Magic Knight Headquarters' Castle. When they got there, there was an obvious red spot in the center of the gate.

Several Magic Knights were on guard, looking a bit pale.

"Hey, who knew that someone else had magma as an affinity, like Father," said Mereoleona, grinning.

"Well, it's not like wizards with similar abilities don't exist, Mereo," said Fuegoleon, sighing. He gestured to the guards to open the gate.

Fuegoleon and his older sister came face-to-face with a woman probably a few years older than Mereoleona, but Fuegoleon knew exactly who this woman was because her striking resemblance to her son.

"Miss Swing, I assume," said Fuegoleon, looking at the very pissed off woman's face. "What can I do for you?"

"My name's Shula and where the fuck did you send my boy," she snarled, the area becoming increasingly warm due to her magma magic affinity.

Mereoleona nudged Fuegoleon.

"Ah, well, why don't you come in and we'll explain," said Fuegoleon, cautiously. "But let me assure you that Magna's actions were his own. I ordered him against the actions."

Shula Swing, Magna's mother, crossed her arms, and calmed her magic down. She was still heavily glaring and scowling. She had similar split hair color of black and gray (though more gray in it than Magna). She was clearly blacksmith from the strength in her arms, the soot on her clothes, and the way she had the insignia of the Blacksmith's guild on her belt.

"Fine. Where can we talk?"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Office of the Wizard King**  
**25th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"I'm gonna kill him," said Shula, as Fuegoleon finishing telling her everything. And by everything, he meant everything because she was _that_ mad that only the whole truth would calm her down.

"Now, I'm sure Magna meant well…"

"Oh," said Shula, cutting off Fuegoleon with a wave of her hand, "not my boy. I'm gonna kill Yami Sukehiro. That asshole. We had a fucking agreement but no, he just does what he wants." Shula was more reasonable when she was not spitting fire out of her mouth (metaphorically, of course). Whatever agreement Yami had with Shula, well, that was not Fuegoleon's business.

Mereoleona burst out laughing watching everything unfold. "Oh my God, I would pay money to see it."

Fuegoleon coughed, awkwardly. "Well, I won't stop you."

Shula grinned, not unlike her son. Really Magna was truly a spitting image of his mother. "Good." She stood up from the chair. "Sorry about barging in here all hot. But he's my only son, and this note he sent me jostled me."

Fuegoleon shook his head. He had read the note Magna sent to his mother. It was vague stating: _"I'm sorry, Ma. I'll be back in Clover soon enough. Went to rescue Vanessa and Noelle's bro in Spade."_

No wonder she was so mad. Shula must have heard rumors about the war brewing between the Heart and Spade Kingdoms and worried that Magna was going to get in the middle of it. If he or Leo or Mereo ever sent something like that to their mother, he didn't think anyone would stop her.

"Ah, it's not an issue as everything was cleared up, Miss Swing," said Fuegoleon, "Let us escort you…"

He was cut off by the door to his office being kicked open to see his three nieces and his mother enter the room. Solace smiled at everyone. "Mereo, the girls have been asking for you. They miss you."

"Mereo," cheered the girls, running up to Mereoleona, who preened under the attention.

"Ah, Mother, how many times do I have to tell you not to burst into my office like that," asked Fuegoleon, sighing. No wonder Father just kept his door to his home office and his office at the Clover Castle open at all times, to avoid damage to the door.

"I wasn't aware that you were allowed to tell me anything. I'm your mother, after all," said Solace, sweetly. "Ah, you're in a meeting. Hello, I'm Solace Vermillion, these two here are my kids and these three sweeties are my grandbabies."

Shula shook hands with Solace. "Name's Shula Swing. My son is in the Black Bulls under the command of your boy."

Solace was immediately sympathetic. Fuegoleon noted his mother once again stopping herself from hugging. His mother was a hugger and had to restrain herself all the time. "Ah, Magna. He's a good boy, that one! Yes, I'm afraid the Black Bulls are being themselves and causing trouble, but I'm sure everything will work out."

"Troublesome brat," said Shula, sighing.

"You're all the way from Rayaka, aren't you? I believe Magna mentioned it when he was in the infirmary," said Solace. "Why don't you come and stay with us, so once Magna and the rest of the Black Bulls return, you can see him right away?"

"What do you mean infirmary," asked Shula, eyes narrowed. "Was he hurt recently?"

"Oh dear, he didn't tell you! Unbelievable," said Solace, frowning. "Well, I treated him! So he's okay now."

Shula nodded, thoughtfully. "If it's not trouble for y'all, I'll be sticking 'round since my son won't tell me things."

"Excellent! Mereo, I'm leaving the girls with you," said Solace. "Miss Shula, let's go get something to eat."

"Ahh, awesome, I'm starvin'." The two women walked out of the room. Mereoleona and Fuegoleon traded looks.

"We'll now all they need is Aunt Nickole back in the Capital," said Mereoleona, amused, as Blue and Sabriel pulled at Mereoleona's hands, while Hanima was somehow now climbing up Mereoleona's back.

"Did they just become instant friends?"

"Yep."

**FLASHBACK**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Vermillion Homestead**  
**The Gardens**  
**12 years ago**

Solace sat at the table, reading a medical text, watching Fuegoleon and Bennett, two young men, play-train with their respective siblings. Leo and Astride were a rambunctious pair, already both skilled with their magic. She knew that they were anxiously waiting for their fifteenth birthday to get their grimoires. It was good to see that Fuegoleon and Bennett took the training of their siblings seriously.

She always wanted her children to be close, to be able to depend on each other, if she or Aldebrand weren't around anymore. Solace was a healer and Aldebrand, while skilled in mana and a Magic Knight, was more of a statesman. The fact that Acier took to training Mereoleona was a miracle in itself. In turn, the training of Fuegoleon was left to skilled Magic Knight Teresa.

"Hey, Mother, look at that! Leo's not falling on his face anymore," said Mereoleona, laughing.

Solace grinned over at her oldest child and only daughter. "I didn't know you were coming home."

"Stopped by since it was nearing Father's birthday," said Mereoleona. She raised an eyebrow at her two brothers and two second cousins. "I'm gonna mess with them."

Solace smiled with a sigh as Mereoleona charged over to them, flames blazing (the poor gardeners), and the four screaming at Mereoleona to stop. Mereoleona challenged them all to a fight that they were forced to accept.

"Lady Solace, shall I douse them with water," asked Miss Sharise, grimoire at the ready.

"No, let them. Just get the gardeners for the aftermath."

"Yes, My Lady."

**Back to present**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Kirsch Vermillion's Room**  
**26th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Dorothy knew it was time for tough love. She was done with coaxing and coddling. She needed Kirsch back in action as her Vice-Captain. There was just too much going on that they needed everyone where they were supposed to be. It was why she charged into Kirsch's room first thing in the morning after that horrendous Captains' meeting and kicking the healer out of the room.

"Captain?"

"Kirsch," said Dorothy, scowling, arms crossed, attempting to look stern. "I'm going to be frank with you. I know who you are in love with and you need to talk to me about it, so I can help."

Kirsch was sitting in bed, several texts from the University Library on his bed, clearly researching something. He was pale, no color in his cheeks, and he really looked bad. Ever since hearing the news that his mother and Zora were out in the Spade Kingdom, he had been worse than usual. "Captain, I don't think _cough_ that it's appropriate…"

Dorothy cut him off. "Tell me about Zora, Kirsch."

Kirsch startled and started to cough up more red carnations. "What the hell _cough_ are you talking about, _cough_ _cough_ Captain?"

"Your feelings for Zora, obviously," replied Dorothy, unamused.

Kirsch attempted to talk, but only coughs came out. "_cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_I _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ don't _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_have _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ feelings for _cough_ _cough_ that guy! _cough_ _cough_"

Dorothy gave him a look, as she got the bin to clean up the pile of flowers uncontrollably coming out of his mouth. She did not say anything but look at him while she cleaned up the flower petals.

For five minutes, she stared at him without saying a word.

Kirsch snapped like Dorothy thought he would; she knew him too well. "Fine, fine, Captain! God! Yes. _cough_ _cough_ I love Zora Ideale. _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ I don't know why. I don't know how. _cough_ _cough_ But I love him and his sarcastic ways and the way his grin is both endearing _cough_ _cough_ and terrifying. I love that he _cough_ _cough_ challenges me and makes me think. I like that kindness under all his walls…"

Dorothy listened him go on and on, saying things that she really did not want to hear at a certain point.

"Alright, alright! That's enough," said Dorothy, clapping her hands together. "Now that you admitted it. Let's work you through it. Let's figure out where the feelings started and what you should do!"

Kirsch miserably pouted.

Dorothy was going to help him no matter what.

**FLASHBACK**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**2 and a half years ago (about 6 months after the War against the Elves)**

He cursed his cousin for the hundredth time on this mission. Kirsch had been assigned to lead a four-man squad to track down a magic beast that was rampaging through several towns in the Forsaken Realm. But of course, dear cousin Fuegoleon had to stick Kirsch with the annoyances of Asta, Yuno, and Zora. He didn't hate them, but they were annoying and they had a hard time listening to Kirsch's excellent battle advice.

While they had completely the mission (as noted by the slobbering mutt that Asta had on a leash to bring back to the Black Bulls), Kirsch was just done with this mission. Yuno and Asta were up front, talking, as the big beast followed Asta like an obedient puppy. The two childhood friends were clearly in love and it was gross.

"God, it's gross, isn't it," commented Zora, as the two older Magic Knights took up the rear behind the smelly beast. Zora gestured to Asta and Yuno. "Them being so oblivious and happy without knowing why."

Kirsch smirked. "Very."

Granted that Zora was five years older than Kirsch and had more experience being a Magic Knight, Zora was quite observant. Kirsch didn't know that Zora was able to pick up on the subtle love between the two upstarts. Asta's love was more difficult to discern, because he clearly wasn't aware, unlike Yuno, who clearly was aware.

Zora grinned, as he took out some stink bugs and threw them at the back of Asta and Yuno's heads.

Asta went to the ground, yelling and complaining of the smell, while Yuno used his wind to immediately be unaffected. Yuno knelt to Asta, teasing him as he blew away the smell for Asta.

"See, gross."

Kirsch snickered for a moment, before catching himself being un-royal-like. Who knew Zora was actually funny?

**FLASHBACK**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Common Realm, near the border of the Noble Realm**  
**Windlass Town**  
**Noon**  
**2 years ago (about a 1 year after the War against the Elves)**

"Is this the town," asked Zora, raising an eyebrow. He and Kirsch flew down to the ground on their brooms. Once again Kirsch found himself, courtesy of his troublesome cousin Fuegoleon, on another mission with Zora (this is the seventh one, but who was counting? Certainly not, Kirsch). This time it was a two-man retrieval missions, low-priority.

Kirsch knew that they were being sent to appease some noble, who thought that he was beyond important. Kirsch just did not understand why Zora was sent—generally, Fuegoleon kept Zora away from nobility and royalty that were not in the Magic Knights and even then, Zora messed with them. Perhaps, this noble irritated Fuegoleon, but Fuegoleon was not a petty person like that to send the one Magic Knight who had a hatred of nobility and royalty (in general), thought Kirsch to himself.

"Oi, flower boy, you in there," asked Zora, throwing a stink bug at Kirsch's head. Kirsch, to his credit, had gotten used to the other man throwing the stink bugs at him, so he was able to dodge.

"Yes, let's just get this done," said Kirsch, scoffing. The two walked into the town and immediately found the biggest house in the town, which was right in the center and clearly took up way too much room. The architecture did not even match the town, so it stuck out badly. "How tacky."

"For once, I agree with you," said Zora, snickering. "Someone's got his head up his ass."

"Please, behave for once," said Kirsch. "And maybe, let me do the talking."

Zora gave a mock-offended look and gasp. "Are you saying that I would insult him and cause an incident?"

"You know you would," replied Kirsch, easily.

Zora cackled. "Not like you're any better, Kirsch. I've seen you make nobles cry all the time."

Kirsch waved him off, dismissively. "I do not! It's not my fault they can't handle some criticism. I am very diplomatic, you know! Captain Dorothy depends on me for it!" He was only bragging a little bit, not that Zora would ever be impressed with anything he did.

"Okay, sure," said Zora, still grinning. "We'll just see. If I break the guy, I'll owe you a drink. But if you do, you owe me one."

Kirsch took the challenge. "You're on, Zora." The two Magic Knights went to the gate of the tacky manor of the noble and knocked loudly at the front gate. A guard let them inside once Kirsch told the guard who they were and why they were here. Another servant led both Kirsch and Zora to the main foyer of the house.

Zora was already getting antsy. Kirsch could tell as Zora crossed his arms and he was dead-staring. He noticed over the time that he had known Zora that when the red-head was uncomfortable with something, he crossed his arms and his face went blank.

"Relax," said Kirsch, softly.

Zora just ignored him.

It took 15 minutes before the lord of the house bothered even showing up to greet them and now Kirsch was the one antsy. How dare some common noble keep Kirsch, a royal and a Vice-Captain of a Magic Knight squad, and his partner for the mission waiting? Did this fool know that both Kirsch and Zora had better things to do than play courier?

"Thank you, Lord Vermillion, for coming all this way. I would normally use the magical mail service, but this was just far too important to just land in anyone's hands," said the smelly, slimy man, handing Kirsch a sealed letter. Kirsch noted it was addressed to his Uncle Aldebrand, the Head of House Vermillion, meaning that it was to get to Fuegoleon and then given to Uncle Aldebrand. Kirsch pocketed the letter.

"Well, we shall just see ourselves out, then," said Kirsch, wanting to get back to the Capital immediately and beg his cousin not to send him on stupid missions anymore.

"Ah! I would love if you stayed for lunch, Lord Vermillion," weaseled out the nobleman. "And of course, your servant can eat in the kitchens."

Kirsch felt baffled. Kirsch never had servants attend to him, what was this man talking about? And then, to his horror, Kirsch realized that the noble thought _Zora_ was Kirsch's servant.

"_His what_," snarled Zora, murderous intent clear, mana spiking in clear irritation. Kirsch already saw the stink bugs piling up in Zora's hands.

Kirsch held up his hand in front of Zora, not that it would stop him, but said to the noble in the haughtiest and most arrogant tone he could manage, "How _dare_ you insult my fellow Magic Knight? What an _**appalling**_ assumption, sir! What a travesty! Let's go Zora. We don't need to be in this terrible, awful man's presence any longer." The nobleman was red, and sputtering with fake apologies, but Kirsch did not want to hear it. With a dramatic turn (and he almost wished he had his longer hair, because that would have been an epic hair toss over the shoulder), he turned up his nose and grabbed Zora to get the hell out of there.

Zora, however, didn't resist the urge and threw a few dozen stink bugs off in the foyer of the man's house for good measure. "Hah, have fun getting the smell out of your tacky house, sucker!" Zora cackled all the way down the lane to the gate, while Kirsch just shook his head.

"I guess we owe each other drinks."

Zora kept laughing, as each summoned their brooms. "Yeah, I guess, you're right. Let's get back. What a dickhead."

"Quite," replied Kirsch.

The two flew off, not talking while they headed straight from the Magic Knights Headquarters. This letter had better be something important.

Sometime later, they landed on one of the towers of the headquarters. Kirsch sighed. "Well, that was a waste of a morning."

"So what do you think is in the letter," asked Zora.

"Ah, no this is for my uncle. We can't read it!"

"Why your uncle?"

"He's the Head of House Vermillion, of course," said Kirsch. "If there is some sort of a deal with the Vermillion, it must go to my uncle first."

Zora scowled. "Why kind of deal?"

"Nothing shady or illegal. We, Vermillion, don't play at those games," said Kirsch. At least, he hoped the majority of his extended family were on the up-and-up. Zora just gave him a pointed look as if he didn't believe Kirsch. "Normally, it's…Oh, no."

"What," Zora asked.

Kirsch took out the letter and glared it. "Marriage proposals. That's the main reason why any noble would contact my uncle."

Zora grumbled. "I still can't believe you all do arranged marriages still. It's so stupid."

Kirsch was quiet. He agreed with Zora's thoughts on arranged marriages. His parents did not marry for love, but Aunt Solace and Uncle Aldebrand did, so did Aunt Acier and Uncle Argent. Kirsch opened the sealed letter and would deal with the consequences later. Zora opened his mouth to say something but instead, grinned.

"Well?"

Kirsch was silent as he read the letter. "Over my dead body. What the fuck is this shit?"

"Wow, I haven't heard you curse like that before," said Zora, snatching the letter and reading it for himself. "Oh, hell fucking no. Let's go back and murder the fucker right now!"

Kirsch breathed through his nose. "No! Then, they would know it's us. But Mimosa is not marrying some 40-year-old asshole! Never! Absolutely not!"

"Fuck right, she ain't. She's barely seventeen," said Zora, in a strange protectiveness over Mimosa that Kirsch appreciated. He knew that Zora had a soft spot for Mimosa and Asta, who had been his Royal Knight Exam teammates, even if he did not admit it out loud. "She's a damn kid!"

"I am talking to Uncle Aldebrand. He's going to reject this," said Kirsch, taking the letter back and pocketing it, fuming mad. He did not know that men were sending proposals to his little sister. How dare no one tell him? "Report to the Wizard King would you?"

"Sure," said Zora, for once helpful. "Just make sure that this is dealt with, Kirsch."

"Deal."

**FLASHBACK**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Common Realm, near the border of the Forsaken Realm**  
**North of Nean**  
**Afternoon**  
**1 year ago**

He and Kirsch were in the forest somewhere north of Nean. They were sent out on a mission to track down rumors of a bandit group. They were posing as travelers. Kirsch was in the plainest outfit (Zora had to pick it out for him at the Nean shop because everything Kirsch wanted to wear was so loud) and he was rather uncomfortable in the commoner clothes.

However, Kirsch's biggest problem was Zora's face. For the mission, Zora took off his lower-face mask. He knew that the rumors of the red-headed, sharp-toothed masked Black Bull had been spreading throughout the Clover Kingdom, so the mask had to go if they were going to lure the bandits out.

Why was Zora so attractive? Certainly, there was a sort of dangerous handsomeness to Zora with the mask and his whole badass vigilante type, but here was Zora, sitting on the ground, poking the fire with a stick as the rabbit they hunted earlier roasted over the open flame, being amazingly handsome.

It was honestly an offense that Kirsch hadn't noticed that with or without the mask that Zora Ideal was an attractive, strong man.

"You're being too quiet, it's freaking me out, pretty boy," said Zora, grinning at him.

The grin had not the same effect as with the mask. With the mask, the grin-smirk was more terrifying yet endearing. The small quirk of the lips in the small grin, barely showed the sharpness of his teeth. It was kind of…cute on Zora.

"Nothing," said Kirsch, trying to change the subject. There was no way that he was going to accidentally let Zora know that the other man was attractive.

"Alright, if you say so, weirdo."

**FLASHBACK**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**South of Rayaka**  
**Evening**  
**9 months ago**

Kirsch felt the pressure on his chest and the pounding of his head as he awoke. His opened his eyes with great difficulty. When they were opened, he had to blink a couple of times because his vision was full of Zora's face peering down at him.

"Thank fuck, I thought you were dead, you asshole," complained Zora. Zora's eyes were watching Kirsch closely.

"Are you alright? Where's the enemy," Kirsch asked, almost drunkenly. Belatedly, he realized that Zora had been hovering over him because Zora had been doing chest compressions.

"Tied up and ready to go to jail. But more important, are you okay," asked Zora, helping Kirsch sit up. "Rest a minute. Don't move. I'm gonna check on the enemy."

Kirsch sat up and tried to regain his equilibrium. He was kind of dizzy, maybe it was the lack of oxygen? What kind of magic did the enemy have again? "Oh, yes, water. Wonderful. I'm wet."

Zora came back in Kirsch's line of vision. "I called for backup on your fancy magic item thing, so just sit tight. An actual medic will be here soon."

"Ah, thank you, Zora."

"Yeah, whatever. I just didn't want to have to explain to Mimosa or the Wizard King or Asta why you died," replied Zora, blithely. But Kirsch heard the underlying worry in his Zora's voice for once.

Zora cared a lot about other people, people he deemed important.

Zora cared about him.

And Kirsch felt like he was going to faint.

"Oi, I told you to take it easy!"

**Back to present**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Kirsch Vermillion's Room**  
**26th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Oh my God, _cough_ I'm an idiot," moaned Kirsch, hiding his hands in his face, after he recounted several stories to his captain. Captain Dorothy cooed sympathetically, ruffling his hair. "How did I not notice _cough_ that I was falling _cough_ _cough_ in love with him? Oh my God. _cough_ Pathetic. _cough_ I am _cough_ pathetic."

"It's not so bad, Kirsch," said Dorothy. "At least, you know now."

Kirsch looked at his captain. He felt overwhelmed with all sorts of feelings. "Uhh, Captain, what I am _cough_ _cough_ supposed _cough_ to do?"

"Well…"

Captain Dorothy was cut off when Levi bursting into the room. "Captain Dorothy, Captain Mereoleona and Vice-Captain Vivian are here to see you. They say it is urgent!"

"AH! We will talk later, Kirsch," said Dorothy, zooming out of the room to see what their guests wanted, leaving Kirsch in the room with the third-in-command in the Coral Peacocks squad. Kirsch liked Levi Roe well enough. They clashed sometimes, because Levi was rather dismissive, but they both had a grudging respect of each other. Levi was good in a fight to have at your back due to his barriers.

"All good, Vice-Captain," Levi asked, once Captain Dorothy was gone. He came to sit down in the chair that their Captain was using.

Kirsch weighed his options. Captain Dorothy was not one he wanted to get romantic advice, considering her own unrequited love. And Kirsch knew that Levi had both girlfriends and boyfriends in the time that they had known each other as squadmates. "Levi, you've _cough_ been in love before?"

Levi looked at him and laughed. "Yeah, of course. Haven't you? Or is this person that the flowers are for the only one?"

"Yeah," said Kirsch, flushing immediately. While he came off as confident, Kirsch was actually inexperienced with any kind of romance, due to the fact that he was a workaholic.

"Vice-Captain," said Levi, sobering quickly. "Be it far from my place to tell you what to do, but you should just confess. Not only will it make you feel better to get it off your chest, so to speak, but you never know what will happen. It might be a good thing."

Kirsch was afraid of that advice. "I can't. _cough_ _cough_"

"Why?"

"Because I'm a _cough_ _cough_ royal, _cough_ _cough_ Levi," said Kirsch, realizing that he was very much never going to be happy in a relationship because he wasn't attracted to girls at all and not many men either.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ betrothed, _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ unfortunately."

"What," Levi asked startled. "Seriously?"

Kirsch frowned. "I'm the oldest _cough_ _cough_ son of the _cough_ _cough_ second son of the _cough_ _cough_ Vermillion main house. Of course, I am. _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ It helps to also keep Mimosa _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ from being betrothed against her will too. Not that my uncle or my _cough_ _cough_ father would force her, _cough_ _cough_ but there's a lot of people_ cough_ _cough_ in the family that are very traditional, you know."

"But they'll force you? Have you even met this girl," asked Levi, getting offended for Kirsch, which Kirsch very much appreciated. Levi grabbed the other waste bin to give it to Kirsch to put the newest petals in it.

"It is _cough_ _cough_ what it is," said Kirsch, simply. "And no, _cough_ I have not _cough_ met her. She's a _cough_ young lady from a _cough_ small noble house, studying at the _cough_ University."

Levi made a face. "I don't like hearing you like this, Vice-Captain."

"Like _cough_ what?"

"Defeated. It's very much unlike you," said Levi, matter-of-factly. "I suppose your duties and responsibilities made you force yourself not to realize that you were in love with someone who you weren't supposed to be in love with…So, who is it?"

Kirsch sighed. "Don't tell. _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_"

"I won't. Besides, Captain knows already."

"It's Zora." Kirsch heaved when he admitted. Red carnation petals spilled out of his mouth.

Levi looked at him, eyes filled with pity. "Oh, Vice-Captain. Sorry."

"Yeah, I know. _cough_ _cough_ Kind of hopeless, isn't it?"

"But, you should tell him when he comes back," said Levi, softly. "You need to get it out and he deserves to know that someone loves him. And…this will help you move on…and stop the curse. And I'm sure even Zora doesn't want you to die because of a stupid curse."

Kirsch frowned. He really did not know what to do. On one hand, he wanted to confess and tell Zora all his feelings, but then again, there was a lot stopping him—rejection, knowledge that Kirsch himself was promised to another, his duty as a royal and a big brother, and his responsibility as a Magic Knight. What would his parents say if they found out? His mother might be okay, but his father might not.

"Hey, you need to calm down," said Levi, standing up and patting Kirsch on the back. "You need all the oxygen you can get, so don't get yourself in a panic attack."

Kirsch didn't know what to do as his squad-mate fussed over him. Why did this have to happen to him?

**Technically the Clover Kingdom**  
**Technically Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Dorothy's Dream Realm**  
**26th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"This is not good," said Dorothy, wide-eyed at Mereoleona and Vice-Captain Vivian. "I see why you needed the dream realm to speak in private without private ears." Mereoleona was tensely sitting in one of the chairs, while Vivian sat, pale and very nervous. "How accurate is this, Vice-Captain Vivian?"

"Ninety-five percent accurate," said Vivian. "I checked and cross-checked all available blood samples at the University medical school. Blue is a Kira Clove royal. And Hanima is definitely related to the Diamond royal bloodline. And Sabriel is related to the Spade royal bloodline."

Dorothy pursed her lips and looked at Mereoleona. "You suspected Blue was a Kira?"

"Well, yeah, of course. She's got light magic. And look at her," said Mereoleona, grumbling. "This is all my fault. I should have never helped him…"

"Helped who?"

"Zach."

Dorothy opened her mouth. "As in Zacharias Kira Clover? That one? The one that should be our king right now, instead of that ass clown?"

"Yes! For fuck's sake, yes. I helped Zach fake his own death," said Mereoleona, standing up and began pacing. "That idiot just had to find some girl and have a kid, then probably fucking die after everything I went through to help his ass. What I want to know is how Blue wound up in that place in the northern Spade Kingdom, that anti-magic village." Mereoleona was raging.

Dorothy winced. "Mereo, calm down. We can't worry about how the girls wound up in that village or how they escaped. All that matters right now is protecting them. Hiding Hanima and Sabriel's heritages will be easier. It was most likely that they were illegitimate children that were shuffled off to never be heard of again. However, Blue's parentage is a problem…if anyone in the Kira House or even the Silva or Vermillion Houses found out…"

"You don't need to tell me! I know!"

"Damnit, Mereo, I know that you're worried, but we have to think!"

"I'm confused," said Vivian. "How bad is it that Blue is this Zach Kira Clover's kid?"

Mereoleona and Dorothy traded looks. It would make sense, not many commoner people knew how the Clover Kingdom succession worked. "Explain it, Dotty!" Mereoleona continued her pacing.

"Well, Vivian, simply put, Blue is the rightful heir," said Dorothy. When Julius had taken her in, Julius gave Dorothy an education. "The previous king, King Augustus Kira Clover XII, had five children. His first child, the oldest, was born out of wedlock to a barmaid, but later that child was recognized by her father. She is the University Head Librarian and Lady Finesse's grandmother. The second child, the first son and the first legitimate child born of number 12's first wife, was Zacharias Kira Clover, and he was the heir."

"He was the best," said Mereoleona. "He would have been a great king, but he was unhappy."

Vivian nodded, "You thought you were doing the right thing at the time because he was your friend."

"Yeah," said Mereoleona, sighing.

"Well, after Zach "died"," continued Dorothy, frowning at the memory. "Augustus the 13th became the heir. Zach's mom died in childbirth, so the number 12 had to remarry. The second wife gave birth to first a girl, who was married off, and then number 13, our current King. Some years later, the second wife also gave birth to another son, who is the husband of the Queen of Hearts. Right now the heir is our current king's son."

"And where does Blue come in all this," asked Vivian.

"Because of the succession laws, Blue was born, she's the rightful heir. Girls may inherit the Throne if they have a better claim to it than the male heir," said Dorothy. "Everyone adored Zacharias, so if people found out that Blue was his daughter, she'd be used to get rid of Augustus 13th and his two kids."

Vivian frowned. "We need to destroy these papers. I covered my tracks when researching, as I did it in the middle of the night, so no one should have noticed. The three of us can't tell then. Blue would be in danger."

"Agreed," said Dorothy. "Mereo? They are your kids soon enough. What do you want to do?"

"We don't say a word to anyone. Ever. Not to my mother, not to William, not to Nebra, got it?"

"Got it," chorused Dorothy and Vivian.

Dorothy knew it had to be that way. The girls would safe not knowing that information, at least, until they were older and could understand better. It was best to focus on their recovery and taking those seals off of them first.

**Heart Kingdom**  
**The Red Palace**  
**The Office of the Queen of Hearts**  
**26th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"So I take it the meetings haven't gone well," Julius asked as Ophie stepped into her office, looking annoyed and tired. Ophie glared at him, meaning that he was, indeed, correct. "What happened?"

"The Generals and the Parliament are arguing over how much money we are funneling into the Army and on top of it, I have people calling for me to back down and undeclared war," said Ophie, getting into her seat at the desk. She buried her face in her heads and muffled screamed.

"You can't take back a declaration of war," said Julius, frowning. "So, is the Spade forces moving yet?"

"No. But if my Generals and the Parliament don't agree, the Generals can't start plans and then we'll be unprepared. I know that the Spade Kingdom wouldn't have done this, unless they had a surefire plan to get through the magical barrier," complained Ophie. "I don't want a war, but I can't let that asshole Spade King walked all over me."

Julius nodded. "Well, I think I may have something from one of the older law books, if you want to hear. Jules and I found it together earlier."

"Oh? Glad you two are getting along," said Ophie. "But yeah, let's hear it. What's this law and how can it help?"

Sighing, Julius said, "Before that. First I should tell you that Jules knows who I really am, because he's just like you and not an oblivious moron."

"What?!"

**FLASHBACK**  
**Silva Homestead**  
**Outside of Acier Silva's Room**  
**19 years ago**  
**The Day that Noelle was Born**

Tears in her eyes, Nickole exited her sister's room. She barely made it a few inches when she just slid to the ground to sit herself in a fetal position and cried into her hands. She heard the sounds of her newest niece crying in the midwives' arms. The midwives and the doctor were handling everything. Nickole tried to muffle the sounds of her tears when a small someone sat next to her. She quickly wiped her face and found her oldest nephew, 12-year-old Nozel there.

Nickole forced herself to stop the crying, despite the tears coming out, as she pulled young Nozel into her arms. For once, Nozel did not resist a hug as he was not big on physical affection even from his aunt.

He was shaking, as she held him. His face pressed against her shoulder and she knew he was crying. Nozel was a smart kid, a quiet but smart kid and she had a feeling that he knew what went on his mother's last pregnancy.

"I'm here, Nozel," said Nickole, running her hands through his hair.

She heard a muffled sound come from him.

"What?"

Nozel moved his head so that he was able to talk. "Is the baby okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Your new sister is fine. Your momma protected her," said Nickole, softly.

Sniffling, Nozel asked, "Can I stay here for a while?"

Nickole tried to smile but her grief made it hard. "As long as you need."

**Back to the present**  
**Spade Kingdom**  
**Coliseum Town**  
**Blue Bunny Inn**  
**27th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Zora felt naked without his mask on his face. It was rare that he had to take it off for missions, but it was necessary. He and Nickole had to look like average people in order not be suspicious as there were plenty of travelers that came to watch the fights at the Coliseum. Their Magic Knight cloaks were hidden; all of Nickole's symbols of her royalty were stored in her grimoire; and they were wearing average civilian clothing. They were posing as mother and son, because anything else would be weirder.

"Here eat while we plan," said Nickole. She was in her food supply bag. She handed him a sandwich. "You saw the Coliseum itself, correct?"

"It's pretty fuckin' big," said Zora.

"They house the prisoners underneath it. It's divided into three sections—one for each enemy kingdom. We need to find the Clover section tonight and get a message to Nozel and Miss Vanessa," said Nickole, putting together a sandwich for herself.

Zora took a bite of the slightly stale bread and peanut butter sandwich, chewed and then swallowed before responding, "You really have been here before. So how can we get them out?"

Nickole sighed. "There are two ways—first would be in the dead of night during guard shift change, we can break in and get them out. Once you undo the binding seals on them, we'll be good to go."

"A preferred plan, of course," said Zora. "But there's another way."

Fishing around her in bag for something else, Nickole replied. "Well, we can always do a mass breakout during the matches tomorrow—disappear in the chaos, while giving the Spade Kingdom assholes a headache."

Zora liked that idea a lot better.

**Spade Kingdom**  
**Coliseum**  
**Clover Cells**  
**27th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"This is only going to get worse," said Vanessa, as she retied the bandage on her leg. She and Nozel had been placed in one fight a day, at varying times throughout the day. Today was a holiday or something for the Spade Kingdom, so there were no fights. They were in three fights already and no one got medical attention afterwards.

"Stop picking at it then," said Nozel, slightly irritable. But she did not take it personal. She wasn't in a good mood herself. The fact was that the fights were clearly rigged and dangerous and the only way they survived was thanks to help from the same Heart Kingdom wizard prisoner from Vanessa and Nozel's first battle royale fight. "Do you think she's a spy?"

"Not this again," said Vanessa, groaning. They had been trying to figure out the Heart wizard's game—if she was there in the Coliseum for a reason or just an actual prisoner. "She probably is a spy. There's a confidence in her and it doesn't look like she's broken like the rest of them."

"But why would the Heart Kingdom send a spy to the Coliseum?"

"Who knows? We both know that the Spade King and the Queen of Hearts hate each other," said Vanessa.

"I am concerned as to why she's helping us."

"Orders maybe? Because I don't know her."

"Neither do I," replied Nozel, sighing, leaning his head against the wall. They lapsed into silence.

Vanessa observed Nozel. His hair was a mess, no silly braided bangs, but all loose and hanging down. He was paler than normal and bruises, cuts and gashes littered his exposed skin, just as Vanessa. But he was still ridiculously attractive, which was completely unfair as Vanessa felt like she looked like a mess. She wanted to go home, she thought to herself, not for the last time throughout this whole ordeal.

"I hope everything is alright at home," said Vanessa, remembering her family of Black Bulls and worried about the rumors she had been overhearing from the guards.

Nozel looked at her and nodded. "I'm sure it is. My siblings and cousins can handle things."

"You know, you should give Noelle a hug when you see her again," said Vanessa, smiling. Nozel flushed; he really was an awkward guy underneath the cold exterior. "She loves you a lot, you know?"

"I'm not big on affection," said Nozel, mumbling, red-faced.

"Hugs are a good thing," said Vanessa. "And Noelle is huggable…wait, is that why you don't like me because I get to hug her all the time? Are you jealous?"

Nozel turned his head away from her and muttered, "You're a better older sibling than I could ever hope to be."

Vanessa huffed and grabbed him into a hug. "You idiot! You're her big brother! I can't replace you or Nebra or Solid as her siblings. I can be her big sis, sure, and I think of her as a part of my family, but there's no replacing…only adding."

"You're embarrassing."

Vanessa laughed and let Nozel go. "She says the same thing."

Then, Vanessa and Nozel heard something with their sharply trained ears. Bugs. Vanessa looked down and saw a familiar sight. "Zora?" The bugs were quickly forming words, explaining that help was near and the plan for tomorrow.

"Aunt Nickole is here too?"

Vanessa couldn't help herself as she hugged Nozel again. "We're gonna go home, Captain Nozel."

"Yeah, we are."

**Orange Roses**  
_(meaning) Passion and Energy_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**27th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"I'm sorry for _cough_ being an asshole."

"I'm sorry too, for being so pushy."

Yuno and Mimosa were sitting on Yuno's bed, sitting across from each other, playing Go-Fish with some cards. Yuno was coughing up flower heads and that morning when he woke up, the flowers changed again. This time orange rose heads were coming out of his mouth, stained with blood. Mimosa was using her magic to ease his pain. They had been playing cards in silence when Yuno decided to apologize for being a stubborn asshole to her.

"Mimosa, I don't _cough_ _cough_ know what _cough_ I should do."

Mimosa sighed, "You got any eights?"

"No, go fish," said Yuno.

Taking the next card from the pile, Mimosa responded. "You're telling Asta once he's back. You can't get out of it."

"He's _cough_ _cough_ gonna blame himself," said Yuno.

Mimosa grimaced. "He was so upset when he found out that Leo was in love with him."

"For my entire life, Asta _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ has always wanted to try to fix things for everyone _cough_ _cough_. He'll think it's his fault, but they are my feelings and it's _cough_ not my fault either. _cough_ _cough_ We can blame that former assassin wizard from _cough_ _cough_ Heart," said Yuno. He breathed heavily as the flowers came out the more he spoke about Asta or thought about Asta. "The last thing Asta _cough_ _cough_ wants is to hurt someone, especially _cough_ someone he cares about…_cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_"

"Take it easy," said Mimosa, tiredly increasing her healing mana. One of her vines grabbed another wastebasket for him. "I know that you're always worried that if you tell Asta, Asta will feel so guilty that he'll say he loves you too and you're afraid that he won't mean it the way you do."

Yuno didn't respond. Logically, he knew that Asta cared about him, loved him as family. But romantically, Yuno wouldn't risk the heartbreak for either one of them. Asta deserved to be happy with someone, even if that someone was not Yuno.

"Would you rather we talk about something else?"

Yuno nodded.

"You want to tease me about my non-existent love life?"

"How is _cough_ _cough_ attempting to court _cough_ _cough_ Langris anyway? I still don't know how you went from being in love _cough_ _cough_ with Asta to being in love _cough_ _cough_ with Langris."

Mimosa just groaned in defeat. "I think my subtly is not reaching. Next time, remind not to go to Klaus for courting advice. It's not like Klaus is making headway himself."

Yuno laughed, despite it hurting his chest.

"Guess us Golden Dawn _cough_ _cough_ members just suck at love."

"Considering that Captain William has been pining over Captain Dorothy for years without saying a word, your love for Asta, my fat crush on Langris, Klaus' crush on Magna, Alecdora failing to get Solid's attention and Letoile's crush on the new Purple Orcas Vice-Captain Erica, it's safe to say that we are all giant fat messes," said Mimosa, succinctly breaking down the Golden Dawn's inability to know what the hell they were doing when it came to love.

"Wow, we're kind of pathetic, _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ aren't we?"

Top squad in stars earned? Check. Best (arguable) squad? Check. Always gets the job? Check.

Talk to the love of your life? Hah. If only.

"Yep."

**FLASHBACK**  
**Magic Parliament Courthouse**  
**Private Chambers of the Head of the Vermillion House**  
**19 years ago**

Nickole stood in front of the head of the Vermillion House, her father-in-law, Maximillian Vermillion, as he gave her a cold stare down. He was not a bad man. He was a harsh and stern man, who wanted his second son to marry the stronger of the two Steele sisters. He had a soft spot for his grandchildren, however, and that may be the only thing that redeemed him in Nickole's eyes. Maximillian clashed regularly with Nickole and Solace on how they were raising their children.

"You can't just claim to want to raise the Silva children, especially the heir to their house," said Maximillian, rubbing his scruffy chin.

"Argent is a goddamn mess. I don't know why my sister fell in love with that fool, but she did and now she's gone," said Nickole, steeling herself. "And leaving my sister's kids to Meliora and Nerio Silva is not an option, Father-in-Law."

Sighing, Maximillian replied, "It would be so that both my sons married stubborn women and my daughter had to be one. Nickole, you know you can't have them. Argent's siblings will look after them."

"They won't. They didn't when Acier was on bedrest. Nozel was the one taking care of Nebra and Solid the whole time," argued Nickole, getting angrier and angrier. "Thank god the servants had some sense to remember to feed them. You know Lady Meliora and Lord Nerio hated my sister for not being good enough for their oldest son."

"Be it as it may, young lady. I cannot have you disrupting the order and balance between the Royal Houses! We will speak no more of this matter! Mind your own family! Kirsch is behind in his studies."

"He's four," hissed Nickole. She had enough of talking to this man. "You know what? Forget it. Go fuck yourself." She stormed out.

**Back to the present**  
**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**The Wizard King's Office**  
**28th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Fuegoleon rubbed the back of his neck, tiredly, as the door to his office opened and in entered his wife and lead investigator. Sal looked as tired as he felt. She must have had a rough time of it. Still, it was good to see her.

"Hey, husband, I demand a date at some point when we don't a war brewing amongst two major Kingdoms, and one of our Magic Knights squads gone rogue," said Sal, teasingly, as she sat down in the chair across from him.

"That sounds like a good idea," responded Fuegoleon, smiling. "So, I take it the investigation went somewhere?"

Sal sighed. "Well, yes and no."

"Why don't you ever give me straight answers to investigations, Sal?"

"Because nothing is black and white, despite what some people may think," replied Sal. "Do you want me to start at the top or just summarize?"

"Please just summarize. I'll read your full report later," said Fuegoleon. "I forgot about the Magic Knight Entrance Exams so I'm trying to put it together." Sal snorted and took out her report and plopped it on his pile of paperwork.

"Have you figured out how you are getting the kids from the Common and Forsaken Realms that want to enter the exams here without breaking the travel bans?"

"I'll send all the spatial wizards to fetch the applicants when it comes to time to host it. Instead of making them register at the sight of the Exam, we will send out a registrar form for each eligible 15-year-old," replied Fuegoleon. "It was Vice-Captain Vivian and Vice-Captain Erica's idea."

"Smart ladies," said Sal, smiling. "That way, we might get a good amount entering the ranks, actually."

"That's what I thought too," said Fuegoleon. "So, what did you find?"

"Radcliffe Laibrook, so he was called, was not working alone, like we suspected. However, Oira Stowe and the other Heart Kingdom ex-citizens were not involved. While they have anti-monarchist tendencies, we can't do anything about that unless it becomes violent," said Sal. "Radcliffe was working for the Spade Kingdom, which, of course, makes perfect sense, considering what was happening."

"Ah, so the plan was to take out Queen Ophelia and have her son, Julian, take the throne. A young boy with no experience would rely on the Council and the Generals, who would definitely take the bait if Spade declared war," said Fuegoleon, rubbing his temples. "However, they didn't count on the Queen of Hearts surviving, which is why they kept sending assassins after her."

"Right, so the Spade Kingdom has a sleeper cell of intelligence agents living in the Royal Realm, so I recruited some people to keep an eye on their activities," said Sal.

"Who?"

"Fanzell and his group."

"Ah the Diamond wizards and the witch," said Fuegoleon. "Good choice."

"The Spade Kingdom is quiet since they are getting their army together," said Sal, "we ought to be careful. They are going to try to drag us into it too."

"Queen Ophelia and Julius are working on something to prevent the all-out war from breaking out, but they haven't told me what yet," said Fuegoleon. He sighed and she sighed. "Well, in the meantime, why don't you get some rest? Or would you rather help me finalize the plans for the Magic Knight exams?"

"Aww, sweetie, you sure know how to keep the romance alive," said Sal, glibly, as she stood up. "I'm going to head home and sleep for a couple of hours. Make sure you remember to eat."

"Yes, dear."

**Spade Kingdom**  
**Coliseum**  
**28th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Zora hated crowds. It made him feel underprepared for an attack and a lot of people did not know what hygiene was so the smell was rough. Thankfully, it was bitter cold and not sweltering hot. He and Nickole had all everything to go. Last night, Zora ran around setting traps everywhere that would activate when necessary and Nickole kept look out. Neither got much sleep with the preparation that this "make a riot and runaway" plan worked.

"So, you never said why you have been here before," asked Zora to his companion as they sat in the quickly filling stands of the Coliseum. They were waiting until the stands were filled and the POWs were being released into the center stage to activate their plan. It was taking longer than they thought.

Nickole did not respond for a moment, until she pulled out some beef jerky and gave him some. "When I was young, about 18 or so, my sister and I ran into some trouble on a mission when we were both in the Blue Rose Knights. We fought here until we escaped back home, after rescuing some younger kids from them."

Zora's mouth twitched, threatening to smile. "Oh, yeah? Sounds like you two were troublemakers."

Nickole snorted. "You have no idea. But that was the first time I was here."

"And the second time?" He bit into the beef jerky as she responded.

"The second time was about 14 years ago when Mimosa was about five," said Nickole, solemnly. And she did not say anything more about it, so Zora figured that it was not a good thing.

He decided that if the older royal was not going to tell him, he needed to change the subject. "Mimosa's too young to be getting hitched, you know? You and your husband better not think about marrying her off."

Nickole startled. "What? Oh, right. You're friends with Kirsch. He's so dramatic about it. We are not marrying Mimosa off. Mimosa will marry who she wants, of course, the rest of the family doesn't know I have made that executive decision. We just have to keep hearing the assholes out and rejecting them properly."

"Good, because you're not half-bad and I wouldn't want to have to fight you," said Zora, waving the beef jerky at Nickole in a threatening manner. The mother of Mimosa and Kirsch raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" He suddenly felt like he needed his mask back on his face. It was in his pocket for when they were ready to run, but at the moment, his face was for anyone to see.

"I'm glad that Mimosa and Kirsch have so many reliable people looking after them," said Nickole. "I fear that I have not been a very good mother to them, so to know that they have such good friends, it makes me breathe easier."

Zora had no response to her. He didn't know much about Mimosa or Kirsch's relationship with their mother. Maybe she was right, maybe she wasn't. Zora suspected that it was somewhere in the middle—clearly, she loved her children and that was half the battle, not that Zora knew anything about being a parent.

"Ah, it's starting," said Nickole.

Zora looked at the stage where the gates were opening down below, letting out the Prisoners of War from three kingdoms. Smirking, it was time to go to work.

**FLASHBACK**  
**Magic Parliament Courthouse**  
**Judgement Room**  
**18 years ago**

Maximillian and Hedy Vermillion were near ready to go to blows with Nerio and Meliora Silva in the Magic Parliament Courthouse and it was all Nickole's fault because she did something reckless and stupid. The Judge was Lavinia Kira Clover and she was letting it happen because she just did not care.

Nickole was standing in the center of the room—having all the nobles and royals stare down at her from the balconies. Her hands were chained and her mana was temporarily bound as she stood waiting to see what her fate was. Her husband Sazerac was normally unreliable and flighty at best, but he was standing behind her, wringing his hands together, while Aldebrand and Solace stood on either side of Nickole.

Miss Sharise had the children, and none of the children, except Mereoleona knew why they having an afternoon of arts and crafts with Miss Sharise.

"_**I want her exiled!**_"

"That's my daughter-in-law you are taking about, Meliora, watch yourself," roared Hedy Vermillion, the spitfire wife of Maximillian.

"She and Acier have dirty blood and always been troublemakers! Nickole is mad with grief. Unstable," argued Meliora Silva right back. "I don't want her near my grandchildren! Never!

Nickole snapped. "Don't you fucking dare insult _**my sister**_, you cold-hearted bitch!"

Solace grabbed Nickole's shoulder, to try to calm her down because Nickole was unable to vault herself to punch the Silva matriarch in the face.

"See? Unstable! Unsuitable to be a mother!"

"You can't ban her from seeing her nieces and nephews," interjected Maximillian, who was the last person that Nickole ever thought would be arguing in her defense. More arguments broke out in the galley, noble lords and ladies taking sides, drowning out the heads of the Silva and Vermillion Houses' yelling at each other.

"Steady yourself," said Solace, whispering in Nickole's ear. "We'll get through this, Neeks."

"ENOUGH," roared King Augustus Kira Clover XII (the 12th), finally standing up from his seat (his children all sat around him). Their King was a fearsome and respected figure, ruling with a sometimes iron fist. Everyone shut up. "I have had it up to here with the Silva and Vermillion arguing about everything from children to foreign policy! Enough! I want to hear from 1st Class Senior Magic Knight Nickole Vermillion and what she has to say for herself. Speak, Lady Nickole and tell me why I shouldn't just order your execution you right now."

Nickole breathed in and out before speaking to gather herself. "Your Highness, if you wish to execute me, then you are going to have to take me down fighting and I swear to God that I will take some of you with me. I don't have to explain myself to a bunch of self-important assholes who don't understand that my sister's children are mine."

"Oh my God, Nickole, really," exclaimed Solace.

"Oh, Nickole," said Sazerac, sadly.

"I can't even," started Aldebrand.

Nickole ignored them as she stared at the Clover King, who stared back intently.

"Should I pass judgement, Brother," asked Lavinia.

King Augustus Kira Clover XII raised his hand to stop his sister, the Judge of the Magic Parliament. "Lady Nickole Vermillion, 1st Class Senior Magic Knight of the Blue Rose Knights, for your crime of causing trouble amongst the Royal Houses and attempting kidnapping of four royal children, you will be hereby banned from speaking to or coming within 50ft of Nozel, Nebra, Solid and Noelle Silva until they are 18 years old. In addition, your son Kirsch Vermillion will remain with your husband, Lord Sazerac Vermillion, from now on. Visits only permitted under supervision by a member of the Vermillion family above the age of 16. As for your daughter, she is still a baby, so she will remain under your care until she is 5 years old, when she will also stay with her father and her brother. You are hereby banished from Royal Houses complexes and the Capital City itself."

Nickole stilled, but the King continued, "_However_, you are an exceptional Magic Knight and wizard, as your record indicates, that it would be a loss to the Magic Knight squads if you were to be gone. Therefore, you will remain as a 1st Class Senior Magic Knight in the Blue Rose Knights, taking upon yourself solo missions and unwanted missions for the remainder of your life, so I decree it. And if you do not comply with these orders or cause more trouble by being belligerent and disrespectful, I will issue the worst punishment for you—banishment from the Clover Kingdom and never seeing your children again. It's up to you."

Nickole made a face and choked out. "Very well, Your Highness."

**Back to the present**  
**Spade Kingdom**  
**Coliseum**  
**28th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Knowing that Zora and Lady Nickole were out there boosted Vanessa's spirits tenfold as she and Nozel followed the mass of prisoners out to the center stage. Zora told them that they had to wait for a cue and that they would know it when they saw it. Vanessa knew that Zora was going to do some sort of spectacular trap.

The two old-timers finally spoke to them last night—wanting to go home in their old age, so they were going to come with them. Vanessa found out that their names were Locke and Styles, so it was good to have more help once Zora took off the binding spells stopping their mana from being used.

"Ready," Nozel asked.

"Hell yeah," said Vanessa, grinning. The prisoners of war stood on the stage like the last few times. The gates closed them inside the Coliseum. Vanessa tuned out the announcer, scanning the stands for the familiar shock of red hair and any signs.

Before the fighting could begin in earnest, screaming from the stands began—Vanessa grinned, as she saw the amount of bugs coming out of the seats. Attendees were screaming, fainting, running for the exits. It was then noticed by all the prisoners.

Even without magic, the prisoners were dangerous as they also realized this was their chance to escape. Vanessa grabbed Nozel's hand and searched for the two old-timers who were already making their way through the throngs of people. Together, she and Nozel searched out for Zora or Lady Nickole. Once their magic was back, it was smooth sailing for the most part.

"Come on," said Vanessa, dragging Nozel, but not before feeling someone sticking something in her free hand. It was a piece of paper, so Vanessa shoved it in between her breasts for safekeeping.

"Looks our friend needs to get a message out of here," said Nozel, taking over pushing through the crowds of rioting prisoners, as Spade Kingdom wizards descended to restore order, but it was a little too late. Zora really unleashed mass chaos in this Coliseum. It was an impressive feat even for him.

Suddenly, she and Nozel were being floated up by the wind. It was Locke. The old-timers were quick to find Zora and Nickole. Locke was floating a large piece of earth being held together by Styles. Vanessa and Nozel were set down.

"Well, looks like you owe me one, 'Nessa," said Zora, as he and Nickole were on the piece of earth. Zora immediately took off the bindings and Vanessa felt the flood of mana in her system. Her grimoire appeared at her side and Rouge reappeared on her shoulder. Vanessa laughed happily and lunged at Zora to give him a hug. "Gah! Get off, woman!" Zora didn't resist much.

Vanessa spotted Nozel thanking his Aunt profusely for the trouble of coming to rescue him, only to get a big hug in return. She grinned. "So, you've met Locke and Styles, I take it."

"Yeah, at first, I wasn't sure but Lady Nickole recognized them as former Magic Knight Captains of a couple of defunct squads," said Zora, shrugging. "Let's get home. We probably have to stop off because I have a strange feeling that our squad is doing something fucking real stupid."

Vanessa giggled. "Yeah, you're probably right!"

**Neutral Zone, near the border of the Spade Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**29th Day of the Curse**  
**Early Morning**

Asta scowled as he sat a top of the Black Bull hideout early in the morning, keeping lookout. He normally was super relaxed, loving spending time with his teammates-turned-family, but he can't talk to Noelle because of Ember, who had become very overprotective of Asta's best friend. Finral and Magna kept trying to talk to Asta about Yuno's mystery love interest and Asta was not interested in that conversation, thank you very much. Captain Yami had been stuck in the bathroom for most of the journey.

Tensions were high, worry about Vanessa and Nozel were making everyone on edge, and Asta wanted to get to the Spade Kingdom immediately.

"It's not like you to brood too much," said Secre, appearing at his side.

"I'm not brooding," said Asta, rolling his eyes. "Can't a guy think?"

"Really, Asta? Don't think too hard, or you'll hurt yourself," said Secre without missing a beat. "It's about Yuno, isn't it? Just admit that you're jealous that someone caught Yuno's eye romantically."

Asta snorted. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Because you're in love with Yuno," stated Secre, matter-of-factly. She crossed her arms and stared at him, tilting her head sideways confused. "Did…you not know that?"

Asta blinked once and then twice. What did she just say? "I'm what?"

"You heard me. You're not that stupid," said Secre. "You've been in a mood since this whole mess with the curse started with Yuno because you're upset that he didn't tell you that he's met someone because you're in love with him and think you have no chance in hell. Did you really talk yourself into believing that you're not in love with Yuno?"

Asta replied, softly, "Stop saying that."

"What? That you, Asta, are in love with Yuno," said Secre. She was pushing him. He knew it. She knew it. "Why are you scared of admitting it?"

Because, he thought to himself, then it would be _real_ and he'd have to deal with his feelings that he pretended didn't exist and hid behind the ridiculous idea of marrying Sister Lily. It was better for Yuno if Asta did not burden his childhood friend and rival with his feelings.

Asta grimaced and did not answer Secre. And luckily, she was distracted. "There's six people coming towards us at 3 o'clock!"

Asta looked off and saw that she was correct. He jumped down to where Henry, Charmy and the others were working to keep the hideout moving. "HENRY STOP!" The Black Bulls hideout came to a near-crashing halt as the six people on a floating piece of dirt landed right before them.

It was Vanessa, Zora, Nozel, Mimosa's mother and two old guys!

Asta rushed to them immediately to give Vanessa a big hug. "Miss Vanessa, you're okay!"

"Asta," cheered Vanessa, hugging him back tightly. "I missed you." She looked a little tired and worse for wear but the healers would definitely be able to fix her right up. Asta didn't let go of her. He really did miss her.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nozel approaching Noelle, finally giving his sister the hug she deserved. Asta grinned. "Was that you? Getting him to hug her?"

"Hah, maybe," said Vanessa, grinning, snuggling him. "Is that Finral? He's cured!"

"Yep!"

Vanessa let Asta go to smother Finral, who just looked beyond happy to see Vanessa again. Asta's grin was stalled when he smelt a familiar smell—Zora's stink bugs. "Zora! Not cool, man!"

Zora bopped him on the head. "What the hell is wrong with you idiots? Did you think I was gonna fail to get Vanessa back? Huh? What about believing in me? Honestly, you don't think. Almost starting an inter-kingdom incident, while I was gone. For fucks' sake."

"Good to see you too, Zora," said Asta, grumbling. "And I do believe in you, but we thought maybe you needed backup!"

"Ah, you runt, Mimosa and Kirsch's mother was all the backup I needed," said Zora. "For a fifty-year-old lady, she's pretty alright."

"So, who are the old guys," asked Asta.

"Former Magic Knight Captains that were imprisoned with Vanessa and Captain Braids," said Zora, shrugging. "Who's the big guy death-glaring Noelle's brother?"

"Oh, that's Ember. He's a dragon. Secre and I found him," said Asta.

"Right," said Zora, blandly.

Suddenly there was a roar of their captain, bursting out of the bathroom. "FINRAL, PORTAL US BACK TO THE CAPITAL NOW!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Outside**  
**29th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Fuegoleon and Marx were standing in the courtyard as Finral's magic portal opened and the Black Bulls hideout crashed on the ground before them. Fuegoleon breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted his best friend/second cousin and Miss Vanessa. It looked like Aunt Nickole and Zora rescued them before the Black Bulls reached the border of the Spade Kingdom.

Yami jumped out of the hideout and landed right before Fuegoleon. "I'm back."

"You asshole," grumbled Fuegoleon. "I don't have time to punish or scold you idiots. Yami, Asta, Finral, we have another Captains and Vice-Captains' meeting. Marx, make sure that Vanessa, Nozel, Zora and Aunt Nickole and the two older men get to the infirmary. Call my mother."

"Yes, sir," said Marx.

"I'm fine, Fuegoleon. I can go to the meeting," said Nozel.

"It's fine. Vice-Captain Vivian is fine in your place until you get cleared," said Fuegoleon. "Don't make me order you." Nozel, Vanessa, Aunt Nickole, and Zora went with Marx. "The rest of you Black Bulls stay here and don't you dare leave." Yami, Asta, and Finral followed Fuegoleon inside of the Headquarters.

"What's going on, sir," asked Finral.

"The Queen of Hearts called an Inter-Kingdom Summit to Prevent War," said Fuegoleon. "There's a lot to do."

"Ah, this has to be Julius plan," said Yami, bored.

"It is," said Fuegoleon. "Oh, and Yami, be prepared. You've pissed off quite a few people with this stunt."

"Oh, well," said Yami.

"Ugh, Captain Yami," said Asta, wincing as the group reached the Captains' Meeting Room, a vine of blue and red roses whipped out of the room and smacked Yami in the face. Finral, Asta and Fuegoleon moved out of the way. "Captain Charlotte is gonna kill you."

"Fuck."

_Ch. End_

* * *

Thanks for reading. As always let me know what you think.

Check out Butterfly Flowers, for more Gladiolus verse content.

Yes, that's right. I am expanding past this main story, so expect sequels, prequels and side-stories!

Thanks reading again!


	7. Chapter 7

SPOILERS!

The Canon Heart Queen is fucking adorable and I love her. I'm liking where the new arc is going so far!

So remember this series is now majorly CANON DIVERGENT! I pretty much hijacked the series just after the War against the Elves. (Shrugs)

This chapter is 13K, a bit shorter than the others. Chapters 8-10 will be in the 10k-13k word range. The Epilogue will probably be about 3k.

WARNINGS: Angst

Also  
Please don't kill me for the contents of this chapter.

* * *

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Courtyard where the Black Bulls hideout crash landed just out of the spatial portal**  
**29th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Magna nervously stood in a line in front of the Wizard King. After the earlier Captains' meeting, the Black Bulls (except Zora and Vanessa, who were still in the infirmary) were called together to get their punishment and scolding from Fuegoleon. Magna knew that they went against orders and not just the Wizard King's orders, but also the Clover King and the Magic Parliament. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten to the Spade Kingdom in time since Zora and Lady Nickole had rescued Nozel and Vanessa in time.

"You are so lucky that I don't have to report this to the Magic Parliament, or you'd be in so much more trouble," said Fuegoleon, arms crossed. He had such a look on his face, a look of disappointment. Magna was able to handle anger, but not disappointment. It was the worst. "First of all, Yami, what the hell were you thinking? I knew what I was doing when I send my Aunt Nickole and your underling Zora to get the job done! You can't just do irresponsible things like that and drag the entirety of your squad into it."

Captain Yami had a rash, still smoking, with a dead stare on his face. "Well, it all worked out, didn't it?"

Fuegoleon sighed. "Not the response I was looking for, Yami."

Captain Yami just shrugged.

"And you, Asta! You can't just do things like this either. You are a Grand Magic Knight," said Fuegoleon, "and we all depend on your anti-magic abilities. Not to mention your precarious status due to the distrust of most of the Magic Parliament and the Clover King, do you really need to get them to hate you more? Remember to think before you act, Asta!"

Asta, at least, looked guilty. "Sorry, sir! You are right! But I was doing the right thing, in my opinion."

"I know," said Fuegoleon, nodding, knowing that would be Asta's response. Then, Fuegoleon looked at the remaining Black Bulls. "And the rest of you! What were you thinking going along with this stupid plan?! Huh? What were you going to do when you got to the Spade Kingdom? Storm it? Cause an incident that we would have to fix?"

"Sorry, sir," said Magna, being the first salute him and apologize. "But like Asta said, we were doing the right thing according to our ideals!"

Everyone agreed

Fuegoleon sighed. "Your punishments will have to be delayed since I need everyone's help with the coming Summit. But just know that the Magic Knight Exams are in three months, so expect to be helping with that and getting every low-tier missions after this whole mess between the Spade Kingdom and the Heart Kingdom is done."

Magna did not look forward to easy assignments, nor did Luck or Asta or Noelle or Gauche, from the expressions on their faces. Before the Wizard King was able to say anything more, Magna sensed a familiar mana incoming, but there was no way that she was here right?!

Flying overhead on her decked out broom was his mother, coming right for him. Magna was not looking forward to getting an ass-kicking, as she landed on the ground, the ground turning to magma as she walked towards Magna. He didn't run. He knew better than to run when his mom was beyond angry.

"Ma, I can explain…!"

Ma Shula grabbed him by his Black Bulls robe, glaring and scowling. "I don't want to hear ya shitty explanations, kid! You apologize for givin' me a damn heart-attack thinking you were going to a damn warzone!"

She hadn't smack the shit out of him yet, so Magna immediately said, very apologetically, "I'm sorry, Ma, but I just wanted you to know that I was leaving Clover for a bit. I don't mean to worry ya."

His mother's face softened instantly at the apology. She sighed. "Ya gonna be the death of me, boy. And just to let you know that I worked it out with your Wizard King that I'd be giving you your punishment when the time's right."

His mother's punishments were the worst. Magna was so screwed. And why was his mother buddies with the Wizard King now? What happened when he was gone?

"Actually, since I just have so much to do," said Fuegoleon, obviously enjoying the thought of the future suffering of the Black Bulls. "Miss Shula and my mother, Lady Solace, will be in charge of your punishments after the issue of the coming war is done."

"Awesome," shouted Luck.

"What? Are you kidding me," snorted Gauche, dismissively.

"Oh, God, I'm gonna die," said Grey, freaking out, by hiding behind Gauche.

"Ma, please don't kill us," said Magna to his mother. Shula grinned. He got a quick hug, before Shula let him go and marched over to Captain Yami. Captain Yami was twice his mother's height, but Magna's captain looked particularly disturbed to see Shula.

"Yami Sukehiro," said Shula, arms crossed, scowling up at Yami. She shouted, "What the fuck were you thinkin' taking my only child to do something goddamn mother-fucking stupid, hah?! You promised me that you'd look after him when ya took him in! Going to start an inter-kingdom incident don't sound so smart, hah?! You wanna do something stupid fine, but you don't take my boy with you when you do it!"

Magna's face felt warm, as his mom went into an overprotective rant, yelling at Captain Yami.

"Come off it, lady," said Captain Yami, glaring at her.

Magna winced as, with two stomps of her foot, his mother's magic melted the ground underneath Captain Yami, causing him to sink to her height.

Shula Swing promptly decked Yami right in the nose.

"Oh man, Ma was wearing her brass knuckles, this is great," said Luck, cheering, getting close to the fighting to cheer both Ma and Captain Yami.

Magna sighed as his mother and Yami began fighting in earnest. "We should stop them," said Magna to Finral, who had been standing next to Magna the entire time. Finral was looking kind of pale.

"I'm not getting in between them."

Magna nodded, "Yeah, you're right. Captain's on his own with my Ma."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**29th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Vanessa was glad to be somewhere familiar, as Dr. Owen continued his healing on her. Nozel was sleeping after Lady Ruth forced a tonic on him. The old timers that Vanessa and Nozel picked up while in Spade were Locke Mckellan, former Captain of the defunct Blue Falcon squad, and Styles Cahill, former Captain of the defunct Grey Hounds squad, and they were currently being chewed out by Lady Ruth for running off so many years ago and getting caught by the Spade enemy.

"You look pleased, Miss Vanessa," said Dr. Owen, grinning as Lady Ruth raged at her two old friends from back in the day. "Glad to be back?"

"You bet! I also can't wait to go home and get a nice drink," said Vanessa, cheerfully.

"Assholes," snapped Lady Ruth. "I would have helped you idiots but no, you just had to run away!"

"Come off it, Ruthie," said Locke, scoffing. "What's done is done." Styles looked like he wanted to intervene, as Locke and Lady Ruth were really the ones bickering with each other. Old people were so cute in Vanessa's opinion.

"The old bastard got rid of your squads after you both left! And guess who took them all in, even the men! Me," said Lady Ruth, still fuming mad. "Absolute nonsense you two! I thought you were dead."

"Ah ha, sorry, Ruthie," said Styles, hands up in a calming manner. "Everything worked out. It was just lucky that Miss Vanessa and Lord Nozel were getting broken out of the Coliseum when we were ready to come back home."

Lady Ruth grumbled. "Whatever." She went back to checking them out, still mad but quietly.

Then the infirmary door opened and in came Captain Yami, looking like he got his butt kicked more than once.

"Shula is nuts," said Captain Yami, sitting on a bed, nose bleeding and clearly broken.

"Miss Shula is the best," said Vanessa. "How mad was she?"

"Super fucking mad. But not as mad as Prickly Queen. You good, Vanessa?"

"I'm fine, Captain. Of course, Captain Charlotte was mad, dum-dum Captain of mine. You left her behind," said Vanessa, rolling her eyes. "Hope she got you good too. It was stupid to drag everyone there to come and rescue me, you know, especially since the Wizard King sent Zora and Lady Nickole already."

"Ah, don't you start," said Yami, scratching his face. It looked like Charlotte gave him a rash with her magic. "Be grateful."

"Always," said Vanessa. "But it was still stupid."

Dr. Owen sighed and left Vanessa to take care of Captain Yami.

Vanessa sighed. "Oh and Captain?"

"What?"

"Uncle Locke and Uncle Styles are moving into the Black Bulls house. I already invited them," said Vanessa, sweetly. "And they already agreed as they wanted a place to stay outside of the Royal Realm."

Yami opened his mouth to protest but made a strange noise. "First it was Asta and Secre with the dragon, then it was Finral kidnapping a willing Lady Finesse and now it's you bringing some old geezers that you picked up while you were a prisoners. We just adopt everyone now, huh?"

"Who's old, you brat?!"

Vanessa giggled. She was really glad to be home.

"Thanks, Captain."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Kitchens**  
**29th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

Charlotte was having a cup of tea in the kitchens of the Magic Knight Headquarters. She knew she had went overboard when Yami and the Black Bulls returned from their self-imposed mission (and thank God, everything worked out). Charlotte was just so mad at Yami for doing something so stupid and something that would get him and his squad in irrevocable trouble.

"If I enter, you're not going to attack me again," asked Yami, from the doorway of the kitchen.

"I won't," replied Charlotte. Yami took it as permission and entered the kitchen. He sat in a seat across from her and just looked at her. It was rather unnerving. "What?"

"What's your problem?"

"My problem," Charlotte asked confused.

Yami sighed. "You had to have known that I was going to go and try to get to Vanessa and Nozel, right?"

Charlotte glared at him and snapped. "Of course, I knew that!"

"Then, why are you so mad at me?"

Why was she so mad at him? Charlotte clamped her mouth shut and pursed her lips into a thin line. She knew why, but was she okay to admit it out loud? She whispered, "You left me behind."

Yami was silent for a moment, before replying. "I didn't ask you to come with me this time because you're a noble woman and you got a family here—your parents, the old hag, and your sister. I know you would have come with me. Nozel and Vanessa are your friends too."

Charlotte looked at him, his handsome bored face not betraying any of his actual feelings. "That's strangely considerate of you. But you don't have to do things like that for me. I can handle myself."

"I know," he replied. Yami smirked. "Next time I'll just ask you to come and get in trouble with me then."

Charlotte snorted. "Don't make this a regular thing."

"It's always a regular thing with me and the Black Bulls."

"Buffoon."

"Hey, you're the one that agreed to date this buffoon, joke's on you," retorted Yami, still smirking.

Charlotte laughed, good-naturedly. "God, you're an idiot, why do I love you?" Then, she froze realizing that she actually never told him that she was in love with him all this time.

"I dunno why you love me," replied Yami, easily. "But I'm glad you do, otherwise this whole dating thing was going to be awkward. Because I love ya, you stubborn, prickly woman."

Her face turned red and she sputtered at the ease at which he said his feelings, after her own years of hiding her own feelings. Charlotte groaned. "You make everything so simple, huh?"

"Yeah, don't overthink it too much."

"Idiot."

"Your idiot."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls Hideout, back in its original spot**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning, After Breakfast**

Finesse trailed behind the other new members of the Black Bulls as Henry walked enough feet ahead of them as he gave them a tour. Finesse was glad that the Black Bulls returned unharmed and that Finral immediately came to pick her up so she was able to move in officially. She had already met Ember, but the two older men were a surprise.

"And…this…is…where…we…keep…Captain…Yami's….pets…now," said Henry. Finesse made a mental note to not enter that room as Finral already warned her about his Captain's large, magical beast-pets. "I…try…not…to…change…things…around…anymore…so…none…of…you…will…get…lost…mostly."

Finesse giggled. "You are doing such a good job, Henry. Thanks for taking us around the base."

The gray-haired, blue eyed Locke, the former Captain of the defunct Blue Falcons, said, "Your powers are pretty neat, Henry. You definitely have to show me some spells."

"Magic nerd," snorted Styles, the salt-and-pepper and brown-eyed former Captain of the defunct Grey Hounds.

"Takes one to know one," replied Locke. "What do you think, Ember? Henry's powers are pretty awesome, right?"

Ember grumbled (at least that was the way that Finesse always heard Ember talk, in a low, grumbling voice), "Quite. Humans have come a long way. It used to only be the royals that had strong magic."

"Thank…you…everyone…for…the…compliments…."

Finesse was really going to enjoy living here. It was quite lively!

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital**  
**Vermillion Homestead**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning, After Breakfast**

Mereoleona was sitting on the back patio of the Vermillion Homestead watching the girls make flower crowns. It was not an activity that Mereoleona knew, but she knew that it was her mother and her new friend Shula taught the three girls arts and crafts. After breakfast, the girls liked to be outside immediately.

The girls were getting healthier every day with consistent meals, regular baths, and a comfortable place to sleep. It also helped that they had positive interactions with Mereoleona and her family members. Once they were cleared medically, Mereoleona would get Vivian to put to together the team to get the seals off the girls, so they can start using their magic.

"There you are," said her father, sitting in one of the chairs. "I have the documents to finalize the adoption, Mereo."

Mereoleona grinned. "That was quick."

"It helped that your Aunt Tarian was back," said Aldebrand. "She's leagues smarter than me."

"No, she's just craftier than you," said Mereoleona, smirking. "I'll have to thank her then."

The father and daughter fell into silence until Aldebrand said, "The girls are having fun. I'm gonna like being a Granddad. Just never thought it would be your kids that I'd be a Granddad for, though, Mereo."

"Yeah, but I don't think Fuego and Sal are gonna have kids, Father. Leo might, if he can get over Asta and find someone who wants kids," said Mereoleona, shrugging. "Once the language lessons take, it'll be easier to communicate with them and tell them what's going on."

"They do know that you are their mom now right," asked her father

"I explained it to Blue very carefully and I think she got it," said Mereoleona, remembering that particularly hard conversation because it took an hour to do. "I just hope she explained it to Hanima and Sabriel."

"Well, I think they get it," said Aldebrand. "I'll leave these with you to sign. Bring them to me after your Captains' meeting."

"Fine. Thanks, Father, but here," said Mereoleona, taking out a pen and signing the papers. "Done."

"Alright then," said Aldebrand. "It's official. Congratulations, Momma Mereo."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Kirsch's Room**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Mother, _cough_ good morning. Are _cough_ you _cough_ alright," asked Kirsch, when his mother stepped into his room. It was strange to have her there in his room at Coral Peacocks, but he was glad to see that she was unharmed from her mission into the Spade Kingdom.

His mother replied, "Morning, Kirsch. I'm fine. More importantly, how are you holding up?" She came over and sat in the chair where all Kirsch's visitors parked themselves when they came to see him. Her eyes scanned the area, noting the bins of red carnation flower petals.

"Fine _cough_ _cough_," lied Kirsch.

"Right," said Nickole, crossing her arms and giving him a stern look. "Kirsch, talk to me."

"There's _cough_ nothing to _cough_ say, Mother," said Kirsch, sighing with frustration. "I already talked to _cough_ _cough_ Captain Dorothy. I know _cough_ who I love and I know that it's _cough_ unrequited, but I haven't quite accepted it yet _cough_ _cough_. And it wouldn't have _cough_ mattered anyway."

Nickole made a face and told him, "If you're worried about the betrothal to Young Lady Esmond, I can get you out of it. I just want you to be happy, Kirsch."

Kirsch snapped, "It still _cough_ _cough_ won't matter. _cough_ _cough_ You don't _cough_ get it!"

"Then, explain it to me. I just want to help you," said Nickole, softly. Kirsch didn't respond and he knew it was childish of him to remain quiet when his mother was actually trying to be helpful and support him. "I know that I wasn't always around, Kirsch, but I do love you so very much. It's okay to rely on me."

Kirsch frowned. "It wasn't your _cough_ _cough_ fault that you _cough_ _cough_ weren't around, Mother."

"But it was," said Nickole, apologetically. "I was the one that messed up after my sister died. I didn't think clearly and I wasn't the one that paid the price. Mimosa, Nozel, Noelle, Nebra and Solid and you all did. I wasn't there for any of you the way I should have been because of my past actions."

"I haven't _cough_ _cough_ been angry with you about not being around for years. I forgave you," explained Kirsch. "So did _cough_ Mimosa. And I know that Nozel _cough_ adores _cough_ you and that the other _cough_ three won't blame you either."

Sighing, his mother said, "Still…"

"Mother, honestly, _cough_ _cough_ if I ever lost Mimosa, I wouldn't _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ be able to function anymore," said Kirsch, understanding his mother's past actions. He learned about what happened when he was younger, after Aunt Acier died, through the backlog transcripts at the Magic Parliament. Of course, there were also the snide comments from the others royals and nobles, who looked at Kirsch and Mimosa as if they were motherless.

"You do love Mimosa more than anyone," said his mother, giving him one of her small smiles. She took one of his hands in hers, gently squeezing it.

"Yes," agreed Kirsch, without coughing for once. And he knew that she would never judge him. "Mother, _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ I'm in love with Zora."

His mother Nickole smiled and said, "Well, he's a good man and an honorable Magic Knight, so I can see why."

Kirsch stared at his mother dumbfounded. "Uh, what?"

"What? I'm not like the old assholes in the royal and noble houses that can't understand that you can't help you fall in love with, or for that matter, who you can't fall in love with," said Nickole, hugging him. "Explain it to me."

"Explain _cough_ _cough_ what?"

"I know that you are like me in being focused on work and your family more than anything," said Nickole, running her fingers through Kirsch's messy hair like he was a little kid again. "You do know that your father and I are not in love with each other, right? I mean, he's my friend and I care about him, but I don't have those kind of feelings for anyone. I love my family and my friends, but I've never been in love and I am okay with that. Is it sort of like that?"

Kirsch understood what she was trying to say. He, of course, knew that his parents weren't like Aunt Solace and Uncle Aldebrand. His father had girlfriends, but it wasn't like his mother cared. Anytime his parents were in the same room with each other, it was always friendly and warm, but more like, they were just two friends who decided to have a couple of kids together.

Mumbling to his mother, while safe in her arms, he said, "Um, yeah _cough_ _cough_ I guess? I never had _cough_ _cough_ feelings for someone before _cough_ _cough_ because I wasn't interested. _cough_ I'm definitely not interested in women and most men _cough_ _cough_ annoy me. So I guess it's only Zora?"

His mother let go of him and smiled. "And that's because you got to know him and you have a bond together, right?"

Kirsch nodded, the red carnations spilling out of his mouth. She nodded and grabbed one of the bins and helped him clean up the petals.

"I take it that you're going to tell Zora how you feel?"

"Yeah, just so_ cough_ _cough_ that I can know for sure _cough_ and _cough_ get rid of this _cough_ curse."

Nickole nodded. "Go easy on him, though, Kirsch. He's not used to be people caring about him. His father was all he had until Zara was killed."

"You knew Zora's dad?"

"Not well," Nickole said, admittedly. "I met him a couple of times. I thought it was about time that we got a non-royal, non-noble person in the Magic Knight squads. He broke the barrier for those like him and for 16 years, we have gotten some amazing Magic Knights because of him not giving up his dream when everyone told him he couldn't. His inability to give up and his love for his son were all I knew about him. He was very proud of Zora. Just like I am of you."

"Mother," said Kirsch, face flushing. "You're _cough_ _cough_ being embarrassing."

His mother smiled.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Captains' Meeting Room**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"Are you serious?!"

"Asta, calm down," shouted several of the other Captains.

"What do you mean that the Summit teams aren't allowed to have commoners on it," demanded Asta. "How is that fair? I'm the Royal Knights Captain and I can't go because I'm not a royal or a noble?! And leaving out witches ain't right either?!"

Fuegoleon sighed. "Unfortunately, the Summit laws had not been updated in 25 years and we need to stop the war between Heart and Spade before they finished gathering their forces for a land battle. So yes, you will be staying this time around, Asta, and keep things here safe."

Asta grumbled. "Fine, I guess. The Clover King doesn't like me anyway."

"We lucked out, we don't have to sit at a stuffy meeting," laughed Yami.

"Speak for yourself," said Jack, completely put out that he wasn't going to be going either.

"Alright, alright. So Team A is the Protective Detail team to go into the meeting with the Clover King," said Fuegoleon, attempting to get order back into this meeting. "We all agree that Mereoleona will lead Team A as Captain, right?"

"Right," chorused everyone.

"So, how many people will I get for Team A," said Mereoleona, smirking.

"Two others," said Fuegoleon.

"That's not a lot," commented Dorothy. "I guess they don't want to overcrowd the place with powerful wizards."

"Correct," said Fuegoleon. "I'll be there in my capacity as Wizard King, however. Mereo, who do you think you want on your team?"

"Well," said Mereoleona, "I suspect that you're going to put Char on Team B as Captain and Sal on Team C as Captain, so they are out. Yami, let me borrow Noelle then! And Rill, you're with me too."

"Yeah, you can borrow Noelle," said Yami. "Hear that Asta! Noelle's going on the super cool missions and you're not!"

"Captain Yami, that's mean!"

Fuegoleon sighed. These planning meetings were going to take forever at this rate.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**Common Area (Living Room, Kitchen) **  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Magna was going to die of embarrassment. His mom was temporarily staying with them until she was ready to go home. Right now, she was making Magna suffer as she took over the Black Bulls' base. She was in the kitchen, cooking up a bunch of her specialty dishes as Charmy hovered around trying to get tastes. Finesse was taking notes about how to cook, as she was trying to become helpful around the base since she was not a Magic Knight. It didn't help that his Ma decided to basically treat his teammates as though she was their mom.

He knew that his mother was especially fond of Luck too, so Luck was trying to get hugs and/or get Magna's mother to fight him.

"Your mom is the best," said Vanessa. She finally got the drink she wanted after being cleared from the infirmary yesterday, despite Magna and everyone telling her that she shouldn't be drinking in the morning. "I love her food! It's super spicy and delicious!" She was sprawled on her couch like normal.

With Yami and Asta out at Captains' meetings, Zora barricaded in his room with threats of stink bug bombs if he was not left alone, Noelle out training with Ember, and the two old-timers out visiting Lady Ruth, and few others sent out on missions, it was only Magna, Vanessa, Charmy, Luck, Henry, Finral, Finesse and Mama Shula.

"She is, but so embarrassing," said Magna.

Vanessa laughed. "I missed you, virgin delinquent."

"Stop calling me that, you slush," said Magna, grumpily. "Glad you're back though, 'Nessa."

"FIGHT ME, MA SHULA!"

"GODDAMNIT, LUCK, I'M NOT GONNA FIGHT YA!"

Magna and Vanessa just burst out laughing. It was always good to come home.

**Heart Kingdom**  
**The Red Palace**  
**The Queen of Hearts' Office**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Uncle Julius was weird.

Jules thought that he was a pretty reasonable sort of person, but Uncle Julius, having the body of a sixteen year old but the mind of a 45-year-old man, and his precious and amazing mom interacting and being "best friends forever" was kind of weird, especially since they were scarily on the same wavelength as magic nerds.

In theory, he liked his Uncle Julius, who was also his unofficial godfather. Mom always told him that if there were any problems in Heart that Jules would find safety in Clover because of Uncle Julius (and maybe because Jules was actually the nephew of the Clover King because of Jules' useless father).

But then, Uncle Julius "died" and broke his mother's heart. Jules had been thirteen years old himself when he understood why his mother thought so highly of Julius Novachrono. Then all of this happened with the curse and of course, Jules was immediately suspicious of "Edward Kairos," the supposed son of Julius Novachrono, who looked exactly like him in his youth and spoke like an old man.

His mom was the only one in this horrible family that he loved and he had to protect her, even if she didn't think she needed it.

"Honey, you're glaring at Julius again," said his mom, grinning.

"Stop being mean to me, Jules," said Uncle Julius, grinning.

"You both are so weird," said Jules, shaking his head. "You do know that I have to go to the Summit. Stop trying to argue against it, Mom."

"I don't like it," said his mom, mouth set in a stubborn frown.

"Each of the reigning monarchs have to bring their heir," said Uncle Julius, nodding. "Bloop will bring his son; the Diamond King will bring his daughter, and the Spade King will bring his daughter. We need to figure out the three people that will go into the meeting with you two."

"You, of course," said his mom.

"He's not a Heart Kingdom wizard," said Jules, shooting down the idea. "They'll count him as a Clover one and that'll screw things up automatically."

"Jules is right. I'll meet up with the two teams that I know Fuego will be putting together to escort them while you all are in the meeting," said Julius. "We need the escort team and the summit team."

"The escort team is easy. We'll use the squad that Jules is in, but as for the people coming in with us," said his mom, "I don't know who to bring."

"Call up Captain Stowe. And Cousin Marilla from her mission," said Jules. "They are the only ones that you would trust to go into this meeting with us."

"But that's only two," said Uncle Julius.

"Those two would be all we need," said Jules' mom. "Lucky that Marilla got a message to me through Vanessa Enoteca. And Captain Stowe will be pissed that I'm calling her out of retirement, but she'll do it."

"Great, now, let's figure out the travel times," said Uncle Julius, far too cheerful.

Jules shook his head. "I'm out. I've got training." There was only so much of this weirdness he could take before he started to get angry again.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital**  
**The Markets**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Noon**

"Let's eat here, Dotty," said William, leading Dorothy into a quiet bistro nearby the entrance of the Magic Knight Headquarters. He noticed that Dorothy had become quite lethargic lately. William knew that meant that Dorothy was nearing the end of her time awake and would be going back to sleep soon. In fact, this was the longest time William ever known Dorothy to stay awake.

And William knew the reason why she was forcing herself to stay awake.

"Okay," said Dorothy, finding the nearest seat and plopping down. "Ugh, why is Kirsch so stubborn?"

"Let's get some food into and we can talk about our stubborn juniors," said William. He went over to the counter and ordered Dorothy's favorite lunch meal and his own. He went back to the table as Dorothy grumbled into her hands, hat skewed on her head. "Tea's coming, Dotty. Now, I thought you said that Kirsch accepted his feelings."

"Yeah, but its Kirsch. He needs to hear it from Zora before he'll accept it," said Dorothy, sighing heavily. "I might not be able to hold out much longer. That'll just dump more work on poor Levi." The waitress came over with their pot of tea, cups, and sweeteners. "Kirsch can't even manage paperwork without stressing himself."

"Yuno's just as bad," said William. "Except, I'm really worried that he'll die before he or Asta do anything about it."

Dorothy sighed again, pouring herself some tea. "If I can't hold out, will you look after my squad? I'll be able to do it in their dreams, but that's not the same."

"Of course, you can count on me, Dorothy."

"You're the best, William."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital**  
**The Markets**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Noon**

Asta knew he needed to stop by and see Yuno, but he wasn't quite ready to talk to him yet again. Stupid Magna, Finral and Secre from putting thoughts in his head, Asta's mind grumbled. So instead of running off to visit Yuno at the Golden Dawn headquarters during his break between Captains' meetings, he went into the city to get some food. He liked the food stands, especially the tatoes cooked in a hundred different ways that made them super tasty.

He walked around the city, while eating some food, having too much energy to sit down and eat like a normal person. The big city was still pretty amazing to Asta. He really liked walking around the streets and seeing all the different people going about their day.

"Asta!"

Asta turned around to find himself face-to-face with Leo and clearly another of his Vermillion relatives that he had not met yet. Grinning, Asta greeted his friend who had hadn't seen in weeks. "Hey, Leo! You look much better!"

"Thanks," said Leo, flushing a bit. "Oh, this is my second cousin, Astride Vermillion, Magic Navy Captain. Astride, this is Asta. He's a Grand Magic Knight, in the Black Bulls squad and runs the Royal Knights when they are called."

Astride was a very tall woman and definitely looked fearsome. "Nice to meet ya, man. My cousins all talk about you a lot!" She enthusiastically shook his head.

"Ah, thanks! So, you're in the Navy? That's sounds awesome," said Asta, easily interested. He knew about the Magic Knights Navy but he never met anyone from it.

"It is," said Astride. "But home is nice especially with new little cousins to play with!"

"Oh right, Captain Mereoleona said the adoption was finalized," said Asta, grinning. Captain Mereoleona being a mom is wild, but totally fitting how she got kids. "Isn't great that you're an uncle now, Leo?"

"Ah ha, yeah," said Leo, laughing. "But the girls don't like me much yet."

"Lies," replied Astride, lightly punching Leo in the shoulder. "The girls love him, already, he just can't understand them yet."

Asta grinned. "Kids are great! I can wait until I meet them. And the easiest way to get kids to like you is to play with them and give them treats. Have they been eating well?"

"You bet. They look a lot healthier now, thank God," said Leo. "How's the Captains meeting going?"

"Glad to hear the girls are coming along. Lots of arguing in the meetings," said Asta. "I just hope this plan of Mr. Julius will work."

"Ah, I'm sure it will. I get babysitting duty and running the Crimson Lions while Mereo and Fuego are away," said Leo.

"Nice. I might have to help out the Coral Peacocks again since Kirsch doesn't seem to be getting better and Captain Dorothy looks ready to drop back to sleep," said Asta. "Well, I'm sure you guys are busy catching up. And I have to finish preparing for tonight's meeting. Glad everything is good, Leo."

"Thanks, Asta," said Leo, grinning. "Come on, Astride, we're late meeting with Fragil. See you around, Asta!"

"Alright, later, Leo!"

As the two Vermillion rounded the corner off to their destination, Asta was glad that it was not as awkward as he thought it would since Leo's confession. He was glad that he'll slowly get his friend back. Maybe after this mess was over, they could go training together…

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Silva Homestead**  
**Grandmother Silva's Office**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Nozel was not looking forward to speaking with his Grandmother. A lot of things happened since the disastrous family dinner and Nozel barely had time to get to the Silva Homestead after the Captains' meeting (and he had to go back to the headquarters for a follow-up meeting since they still had to figure out things for the coming Summit). He honestly did not have time to deal with his grandmother.

"You seem like you're fine," said Grandmother Silva, as Nozel entered the office. "What took you so long? I'm a busy woman."

"Grandmother," said Nozel, stonily. "I am also very busy, so let's get this done. What do you want?"

"You rude brat," said Grandmother Silva, arms crossed and glaring at him. "You're more and more like your mother every day. Now, first let's talk about you walking out of family dinner weeks ago. And then we'll get into you embarrassing the family by getting captured by the Spade enemy and had to be saved by a peasant and a disgraced noblewoman. You have been quite insubordinate and mouthy lately. I do not like it. And you have not even taken a look at the list of prospective wives. There is only so long you can hold off marriage."

Nozel was not in the mood to be attacked for all his choices. He glared at her and snapped. "Family dinner was a joke. It was just a way for you to bully my siblings and me. I got captured doing my job of protecting the Heart Queen. And Aunt Nickole and Zora Ideale rescuing me is not something embarrassing. And I don't know how many times I have to tell you. My siblings and I will all marry for love."

"Why can't you do what you're told?"

"Because I'm not your puppet, Damnit. The way the Silva have been doing things needs to change," said Nozel. "The world is changing and we have to change with it, otherwise then, what's the point?"

"As long as I'm the head of this House, we shall stick to the traditions of our family."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't be the head anymore. Father is unable to do the job, but I'm 30, a Grand Magic Knight, the Captain of the Silver Eagles and a well-respected wizard," said Nozel, coldly. He knew that this was going to dissolve into a shouting match. Whenever he and his grandmother were alone, this happened. They just couldn't see eye-to-eye.

"Nonsense, you'll drive us to our doom," snapped his Grandmother. "This is all your upstart aunt's fault. She's been putting thoughts in your head, hasn't she? She's been out to get me since your mother died."

"Actually, it's my experiences in the Magic Knights that gave me these thoughts. And do not insult my Aunt or my Mother," replied Nozel. He turned. "I have many more important things to do than to listen to a senile old lady who can't handle change."

He stormed out.

It would bite him in the ass later, but it felt good to do so.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**Captains' Meeting Room**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

"Okay, is everyone fine with the teams," asked Fuegoleon. "We have Team A, the protective detail, with Mereoleona, Noelle, and Rill. Team B, the ground travel team, with Charlotte, Mimosa, Alecdora, Klaus and Nickole. Team C, the air travel team, with Sal, Secre, Langris and Bennett. Good?"

"Yes, sir," agreed the captains.

"Great," said Fuegoleon, sighing. "Now, we have to figure out who's going to be in charge of the Magic Knights while I'm gone."

"Well, if you insist, I'll do it," said Yami.

"Hell no," said Jack. "I'll do it."

"As if you two morons can keep the kingdom standing," said Nozel. "I'll do it."

Fuegoleon had a headache from the needling and arguing about teams and travel plans. The timetables were the biggest pain in the world, because they had to keep in mind that they were traveling with the King and his staff, who would slow the Magic Knights down. As Nozel, Yami and Jack got into an argument, Dorothy looked barely able to stay away, while William hovered nearby in case she passed out back into her deep slumber.

"Enough! Let's do this logically," ordered Fuegoleon, but he was ignored. He just sighed. As Mereoleona decided to get in and the fight just for the hell of it, while Charlotte was using her vines to block Dorothy from getting hit.

"Hey, sir, I'm gonna leave, I'm exhausted," said Asta, dodging a thrown-chair courtesy of Jack towards Nozel.

"Yeah, Asta, go and rest," said Fuegoleon, waving Asta off. Asta did figure out the Team C configuration after all. He was younger still and needed rest. "We'll figure it out eventually."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**Common Area**  
**30th Day of the Curse**  
**Night**

Noelle was up reading a mystery novel when Asta and Finral stepped out of a spatial portal. Finral bid goodnight and headed off to bed. Asta went over to Noelle, who was sitting on the couch, and sat next to her.

"Rough meetings?"

"Yeah. You'll be going on a mission soon."

"Oh," said Noelle. It was nice having Asta in the Captains' meetings because he always told her what was going on in them. Asta put his head on her shoulder. "You're lucky that Ember isn't here. He's visiting Mimosa."

"Ugh, so, I saw Leo earlier today with his cousin Astride," said Asta.

"Oh, how'd that go?"

"Better than I thought. I miss him being my friend," said Asta. "But I know I have to give him time."

Noelle hummed. She knew that Leo had been upset that Asta didn't feel the same way. She had been through the same situation, but she told Leo that it'll be better once he moved on from Asta. Noelle wouldn't trade Asta's friendship for anything in the world. It was amazing being his best friend. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Yuno."

"Ah ha," said Noelle, "was that why you are giving Magna and Finral the silent treatment and Secre too?" Of course, it was Yuno. It was always Yuno that got under Asta's skin. Yuno was super special to Asta, even if it hurt Noelle to admit that Asta may have been her best friend and he depended on her and her on him, but Yuno was number one to Asta.

Asta wasn't ready to admit it.

"Maybe," said Asta.

"They are just worried about you," said Noelle. She had noticed what Finral and Magna were trying to do, which was very much like them to try to help Asta. Noelle could just imagine what frank remarks Secre made to Asta too. "Frankly, so am I."

Asta groaned. "Not you too."

"Yes, because you're not honest with yourself for once," said Noelle. "Don't overthink it. Just go for it."

"Go for what?"

"Whatever you want, like you always do," said Noelle, shrugging. She was not the one that was going to spell out the obvious for him. If he and Yuno were to work out, they needed to get their mostly on their own and not be pushed to it by meddling friends. "You are the bravest, kindest, and most stubborn person I know, you never give up, that's your magic. You never think anything is impossible."

"Good pep talk, Noelle."

"Yeah, well, I learned from the best."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**Common Area**  
**31st Day of the Curse**  
**Morning, Breakfast**

Every Black Bull and Mama Shula were at the breakfast table, all enjoying bowls of oatmeal and the fruit that Charmy brought home yesterday. Bleary-eyed, Zora was already on his second bowl of oatmeal, and eating whatever Charmy put in front of him. Still exhausted, he felt like he needed another a few days to rest before he went back off to travel. Well, he actually had to stay put because Captain Yami said that Zora might be needed depending on the outcome of the Captains' meetings.

"Heyyo, morning, Black Bulls," said a cheerful voice, entering the front door (like a normal person, Zora noted and not busting down a wall or the door to get inside). It wasn't as though the Black Bulls locked their door. Only an idiot with a death wish would try to attack them in their base.

"Morning, Levi! You're looking a lot better," greeted Asta, way too loudly for the time of day.

"Captain Asta! Thanks. I'm feeling better. Although I wish Captain Dorothy would let me go back out on missions," said Levi, grinning. Zora remembered him. Levi Roe, a Coral Peacock, and the third-in-command, was a decent Magic Knight, although a bit too bright for Zora's liking. "Oh, Miss Vanessa, glad to see you."

"Thanks, sweetie," said Vanessa, winking at Levi. "What brings ya by?"

"Ah, Vice-Captain asked me to come," said Levi, rolling his eyes. "He wants to talk to Zora."

Zora scowled. "And what does Kirsch need from me? Ain't he supposed to be restin'?"

Levi held up his hands in a placating manner. "You know him. Dramatic and all. He wants to thank you for rescuing Captain Silva and being a good teammate to his Ma on the mission. Please come because if you don't, I'll never hear the end of it."

Zora really didn't want to go, because it was a silly reason to go to the Coral Peacocks Headquarters. Why the hell would Kirsch want to thank him for Zora doing his job?

"Oh, go ahead, Zora. Visit Kirsch," said Noelle, grinning. "It's not like you have anything to do today since you're not allowed to disappear."

"Yeah, Zora," said Asta. "Go and be nice!"

"Shut up, brats," said Zora, rolling his eyes.

"It won't take too long, Zora," said Levi.

Zora sighed. "Fine."

**Red Carnations**  
_(Meaning) love, pride, and admiration_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Kirsch's Room**  
**31st Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

To say that Kirsch was nervous was an understatement. He recruited Levi to be his messenger. Kirsch counted that Levi would figure out a way to convince Zora to come here to see him. Kirsch was sitting in his bed, showered, hair brushed but not styled, he didn't want to seem like he was trying too hard, and in some clean clothes. Captain Dorothy was also on board with this plan as she sent a few of juniors to clean Kirsch's room (not that it was messy but still), any lingering carnation petals were cleared out.

He was ready, but not ready. Kirsch fiddled with the hem of his shirt. Was this a mistake? It was probably a mistake. He was totally about to ruin his comradery with Zora. What if Zora never wanted to talk to him again? What if missions together would be awkward from then on?

The knock on the door jolted him out of his very self-deprecating thoughts and he heard Levi call out.

"Come _cough_ in," replied Kirsch. Levi stayed by the door as Zora, slightly irritated as always, entered the room. Zora was focused on Kirsch, so Kirsch was grateful that Zora didn't see Levi give a thumbs up and then flee the premises.

Then it was just Kirsch and Zora.

"So, barrier-boy told me that you got some personal thanks or whatever to tell me," asked Zora, arms crossed and looking like he would rather be anywhere but here. Then again, the Coral Peacock Headquarters was quite bright, playful and whimsical. Zora was very out of place here.

"Right," said Kirsch, remembering the white lie he and Levi came up with get Zora to visit. "Thank you _cough_ _cough_ for saving my _cough_ cousin! And thank you for protecting _cough_ my mother. _cough_ I worry about her _cough_ when she goes on _cough_ dangerous _cough_ missions."

Zora snorted. "I just went because Vanessa needing saving. It just so happened that Nozel had been there too. And as for your mom, I didn't really do much. She's a competent Magic Knight. Considering that she is you and Mimosa's mother makes a lot of sense."

Kirsch smiled. "How many times _cough_ _cough_ did she try to feed you?"

"Regularly, every several hours," said Zora, smirking. "Well, thanks for the gratitude, I guess. I'm gonna leave. This place hurts my black and withered soul." He turned to leave (flee) and Kirsch couldn't miss this chance.

"Wait, there's _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ something else! _cough_ _cough_ _cough_"

Zora turned back around and looked expectantly at Kirsch. "Alright, well? Say it before you suffocate yourself to death."

Kirsch knew that there was not an elegant way to say it, so he blurted out before Zora could run away, "I'm in _cough_ love with you! _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ I love you."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Kirsch's Room**  
**31st Day of the Curse**  
**Morning, just as Kirsch confessed**

What? WHAT?

Zora stood there and stared at Kirsch.

Did the royal lose too much blood? He must be delirious. The curse was getting to Kirsch. There was no way that Kirsch was in love with him, Zora! There was no way.

"I'm sorry. I misheard ya from all that coughing," said Zora, not willing to believe that a royal, no, that _Kirsch Vermillion_ of all people actually loved him. "I should get ya a doctor. Clearly, you've lost too much blood. You're delirious." Zora needed to get out of that room and far, far away from this situation. He felt the panic rise in him. Zora was not good at feelings and crap.

It was hard enough when the stupid kids (i.e. Mimosa, Asta) looked at him with their big doe eyes thinking that he was so amazing. It was hard enough to deal with the overly affectionate and sisterly natures of Charmy and Vanessa. It hard enough knowing that the Black Bulls cared about Zora and his well-being that they forced him to come back to base to rest regularly.

"Zora," said Kirsch, whose throat must have be destroyed by the vomiting of flowers, sounded far too fond just saying Zora's name. "I love you." Coughs erupted from Kirsch, body shaking from the force, as the red petals came spilling out of his lips.

Zora felt an intense guilt. This guy, no, his Magic Knight comrade, who he had grown to respect over these last three years, had suffered for a month due to his feelings for Zora. Kirsch suffered because he thought he was in love with Zora. Zora breathed in and out a couple of times and knew that he needed to deal with it, even if it was dealing with feelings and emotions. He strode over to the chair and sat down.

Zora steeled himself. "Okay. We're doing this now. Why do you think you're in love with me, Kirsch? No nonsense answer either. Tell me."

Kirsch gave him an offended royal look. "I don't _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _**think**_ I'm in _cough_ _cough_ love with you, Zora. That's rude to assume you know how I feel. I am in love with you."

Zora grimaced. "You actually mean it, don't you?"

Kirsch nodded, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. "I do. _cough_ And to answer your question why, I'll just _cough_ say that it was a lot of things that made me love you, but mostly that you are an _cough_ honorable person despite your snarky nature. Though, I like that _cough_ part of you too."

Startled, Zora said, "Wait, you love me for my personality?"

"Yeah, I was _cough_ pretty surprised too," said Kirsch. A wry smile broke out on Kirsch's face. "So, let me down easy, alright, Zora? _cough_ just don't apologize, please. I don't think _cough_ I can take that."

He felt another stab of guilt. Kirsch was far from stupid, so he already knew Zora's answer. Zora replied, slowly, trying to find the right words. "It's been a…very long time since someone actually said those words to me."

"There's a lot of people who _cough_ love you," said Kirsch, coaxing Zora to continue, "but it's not just done, right? Not telling the people you love on a regular basis that you love them. It should _cough_ be like that."

Zora grimaced.

"Thank you for loving me, Kirsch. I just don't feel the same way. But," continued Zora, wincing, "I don't NOT like you, okay?"

Kirsch grinned. "I am very likeable. I've grown on you."

"Like a wart," responded Zora. He was comfortable with banter and friendly teasing. Kirsch knew it.

Kirsch brightly laughed.

Zora chuckled, as he stood up. He really needed to get out of there. Almost to the door, clear as day with no cough in his voice, Kirsch said, "Zora? Just because you don't feel the same way and I accept it, it doesn't mean that I'm going to stop loving you."

Oh.

Well, Zora doesn't quite know how to feel about that fact as he fled the confines of the hellscape that was the Coral Peacock Headquarters.

Damnit.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Silver Eagles Headquarters**  
**Captain's Office**  
**31st Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Noelle stood her oldest brother's office, standing out in her Black Bulls attire, next to her Silver Eagles siblings Nebra and Solid. Nozel was pacing the room. He called them there, but Noelle did not know what was going on or what Nozel wanted to say. She was just glad he was back.

"What's wrong," asked Nebra. "Did something happen?"

"Grandmother," replied Nozel. He stopped his pacing and Noelle's heart dropped to her stomach. What did Grandmother do now? Nozel probably won't tell them. His meetings with Grandmother always put him on edge. "I have decided that I am bypassing Grandmother and Father to become the Head of House Silva by using the law in Magic Parliament. I'm tired of having to bend to the will of those that refuse to change."

Noelle grinned. "Alright! I'll help!"

"Oh, bother," said Nebra, sighing, with a smile on her face. "I guess I'll just have to pick up the slack here in the squad while you and Noelle do that."

"You mean have Vivian do it," said Solid, sniping at their older sister. "Honestly, I don't see this going very well. The Magic Parliament is full of royals, our very extended family may I remind you, and nobles who haven't cared for the change over the last three years especially. And you know the Kira Clover are the worst at change. Damnit especially."

"You mean, Damnatio," replied Noelle.

"No, Damnit is what I meant to say."

"Way to bring the mood down, Solid," said Nebra, rolling her eyes.

"I just said that this is going to go badly," replied Solid, snottily. "I am going to help."

Noelle grinned. "See, Brother Nozel, you don't need to be so nervous. We got your back!"

"Thank you," replied Nozel, grateful for the support. Noelle hugged him—grabbing Nebra and Solid too for a big group hug. Vanessa was right. She just had to hug the broodiness and snarkiness out of them.

"Awww, what a cute family group hug," cooed Vice-Captain Vivian, entering the office with a stack of paperwork. "It's scary how you all look so much alike."

"Viv, really? We were having a moment," snapped Nebra.

Rolling her eyes, Vivian responded, "Right, well, Captain has a meeting to attend and Noelle has a mission to prepare for. And Solid, you're with me because you made one of the juniors cry again. You are going to apologize earnestly this time, mister."

"Ugh."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Captains' Meeting Room**  
**31st Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"Thank you very much for the honor, Lord Fuegoleon," said Kaiser. "I'll be sure to do you proud."

Fuegoleon came to the decision that Kaiser, who the most reasonable and reliable of the captains, would temporarily be in charge. It was actually a hard decision to make—he had been going between Kaiser, William and Nozel. However, Nozel had his hands full with his House Silva issues—Nozel told him that he had a big argument again with his Grandmother. In addition, Fuegoleon was certain that if he named William in charge, the Magic Parliament members' collective hearts would give out. Therefore, Kaiser was the only sensible choice.

"Great, thanks, Kaiser," said Fuegoleon. "Now, we also have a problem. The King wants to bring more servants than we anticipated. And we have to leave in 3 days." Everyone in the room groaned annoyed.

"But we just finished everything," cried Rill. "Why does he need more servants?!"

"Yeah, this is an important meeting, not a vacation," sighed Charlotte. "We'll have to add a couple of people to Teams B and C, if this is the case."

"Unfortunately, I don't think we can't afford any more Magic Knights on the teams to leave the Clover Kingdom," said Fuegoleon. "Damnatio Kira Clover will be coming with us."

"WHAT," Mereoleona roared. "He's coming to watch us, is he? I'll fight him."

"Calm down, Mereo."

"No! He's getting involved in Magic Knight Business. He's not a Magic Knight!"

"Captain Mereoleona, calm down. I'm sure it will all work out," said Rill, mistakenly trying calm down the fiercest woman ever. Mereoleona was not having it.

Fuegoleon sighed. "Ah, let's calm down everyone!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**31st Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"Sister Lily, you _cough_ didn't have to come all this way," said Yuno.

Lily frowned and gave him a stern look. "Of course I did! We're all very worried about you, Yuno. Father and the children had to stay to help around town with a new house we're getting built, so they sent me to check on you. You and Asta, I should say. I'm going to see him later." She went over to Yuno, checked his temperature by placing the back of her hand on his forehead. "You need to stay hydrated."

"Sister Lily, are you it's _cough_ sure it's alright _cough_ that you traveled all this way," asked Yuno. "The travel bans _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ haven't affected anything?"

"I'm a Sister of the Church and we are exempt from the travel bans," said Lily, frowning. It was honestly why she couldn't bring the kids with her to visit Yuno and Asta. "Just as the Magic Knights. However, nothing would have kept me from you boys."

Yuno gave her one of his small smiles. "You're _cough_ _cough_ the best."

"Now, when are you going to tell Asta how you feel?"

"Sister Lily! _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ What?"

Lily raised an eyebrow. "I like how you thought I didn't notice. Did I not raise the both of you? So, why are you hesitating?"

"I'm not. He hasn't _cough_ _cough_ been by to see me in a few days. _cough_ Things are _cough_ hectic," replied Yuno, coughing up a heavy amount of flowers that were looking more and more like whole ones.

Lily hummed as she poured him some water from the pitcher that whomever was looking after Yuno left earlier. "And if you asked for him to come over, he would instantly. Asta worries over you. He always did. Why when you were very little and got sick often, Asta always stayed by your bedside trying to help me take care of you."

Yuno flushed red in embarrassment.

"I know that whatever happens that you two will be okay. You'll be forever important to each other in many ways," said Lily. She didn't want to outright tell Yuno that Asta loved him just as much, because she knew that Yuno wouldn't believe her. Asta, after all, did spend years professing his love for Lily right in front of Yuno. Of course, Lily knew why Asta did it—to divert himself from his actual feelings for Yuno. "Nothing can change your importance to each other."

Her boys were such messes.

"Thanks, Sister Lily," coughed Yuno.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**Common Area**  
**31st Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

"Sister! Did you go and visit Yuno," cheered Asta, with his enthusiasm for everything and his big heart happy to see her. Finding the Black Bulls' hideout was easier than she thought (Mimosa kindly gave her directions and Klaus even offered to take her), and she knew from Asta's long letters that the door was never locked.

Asta hugged her. "Hi, Asta. Hello, Black Bulls!"

"HI SISTER LILY," cheered the majority of the room, who were either eating or drinking or arguing or all three.

"Let me borrow Asta for a bit," said Lily.

"Yes, take him. The mopey boy. Maybe you can talk sense into him," said Vanessa.

"Yeah! Talk some sense to him," said Magna. "Our junior needs to man up!"

"Guys, you're the worst," said Asta, annoyed. Lily laughed at the interactions, and took Asta by the arm and led him outside to the quiet night. "Walk around a bit?"

"Of course," said Lily. "So, what were your teammates talking about?"

"Nothing," Asta said too quickly for her liking. "They don't know what they're saying half the time."

Lily sighed and smiled fondly at Asta. "About Yuno and this curse?"

Asta frowned. He looked so upset. "Yeah…I guess."

Lily and Asta walked around the woods around the Black Bulls' hideout, while Lily thought about a way to help Asta. She knew what she needed to do. "Asta, have you admitted it out loud?"

"Admit what out loud, Sister," asked Asta, playing stupid, when she knew for a fact that he wasn't.

Lily stopped and gave Asta stern look. "Really now, Asta. You are the last person to want to lie to yourself."

Asta sighed. "It's not easy. This is Yuno, he's my best friend and my rival and someone I care about a lot. Do you know that Noelle, Mimosa and Leo were all in love with me? Leo's actually still in love with me! I couldn't return any of their feelings, because my heart already belonged to someone else!" He sounded so frustrated at himself. Lily moved to hug him, but he moved too quickly to be captured in a hug. "Yeah, I'm in love with Yuno! But it doesn't matter because he deserves someone better than me."

Lily bopped Asta lightly on the head. "Nonsense. There would be no one better. Don't give up. Look at the others that were affected by the curse. Did all of them get happily ever-after like the storybooks? No. You can romantically love more than one person in your lifetime in different ways. Just as you can love all your friends and family."

Asta made a face. "Have you ever been in love?"

"A long time ago, before you were born, actually," said Lily, ruefully. "And I never regretted it even though it didn't work out. Asta, do what you always do. Fight, don't give up, and be yourself."

Asta laughed. "Thanks, Sister, I don't know what I do without you!"

"Hah, more like I don't know what I would do without you and Yuno!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Blue Rose Headquarters**  
**Kitchen**  
**32nd Day of the Curse**  
**Crack of Dawn**

Nickole always got up bright and early, especially when she was home at the Blue Rose Headquarters. The squad deserved a hearty breakfast when she was in, in her opinion. She had went shopping last night, dragging a couple of the younger girls with her, since it was apparent that no one was a functioning adult here. Nickole lamented that the eating habits of her juniors (which in her mind included Charlotte, despite Charlotte being her Captain) when she heard a noise of someone entered the kitchen from the back door.

"Your son fucked my mind up," said a familiar drawling voice of the young man that she had recently been on a mission in Spade.

"Zora?" Zora Ideale came into the Blue Rose kitchen, looking like he hadn't slept in a couple of days. "What did my son do?" Nickole, of course, knew that Kirsch had confessed and gotten rejected by Zora just yesterday morning. Mimosa and Nickole had visited Kirsch in the afternoon to console him since Levi sent them both a message.

Zora snorted. "Don't play dumb. Kirsch's the kind of guy that would tell his mother and his sister this information. I wouldn't be surprised if Captain Dorothy and Levi Roe both know too."

Nickole laughed. "I guess. So, you didn't return his feelings. That's okay. It happens, so what's wrong? And why are you barging into my kitchen at 4 in the morning looking like you haven't slept?" She took a new mug and filled it with tea and brought it over to Zora, who was sitting at the morning kitchen table.

"I don't know?" Zora sounded very frustrated. Nickole hummed and went back to cooking. This young man needed some food in him. "He's kind of my friend, but I don't know? I feel guilty. It's not like I can force myself to have feelings for him."

"Right," said Nickole, prompting him to continue.

"He suffered because of me."

"No, he suffered because he was a stubborn, workaholic, oblivious to his own feelings young man, who never had a crush before and didn't know how to deal with it," said Nickole. "He's too much like me in that regard. Zora, you don't have to feel bad. Kirsch won't make it awkward. He'll be professional when on missions. I doubt how you treat each other will change, right?"

"I won't. I still got to keep him on his toes," said Zora, grumbling. "And he does his job, so, I guess you're right. We're still kind of friends." Nickole found it cute that Zora wouldn't admit it outright that he and Kirsch were friends. Zora cared, just not in the way that Kirsch would have hoped.

"Besides, it won't matter in the long run," said Nickole, sighing. She knew that she probably shouldn't say it but Zora was bound to find out since Mimosa was quite fond of him, not to mention Kirsch himself, even with his feelings, saw Zora as a friend. "Kirsch will be getting married by the end of the year."

"Uh, excuse me? Like an arranged thing?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," said Nickole, a little annoyed.

"You can stop that shit from reaching Mimosa but not your son?"

"It wasn't my say. Kirsch agreed to it a couple of years back when Mimosa started getting the offers from men. It got the House Vermillion Council sights focused on him and not Mimosa's prospects," said Nickole, frowning. "I am hoping that he'll change his mind, but I don't think he will." Realizing what she said, she hurriedly told Zora, "But that doesn't mean that Kirsch would have changed his mind even if you felt the same, so don't start down that path, alright?"

Zora remained silent as she gave him a plate of food.

"His life isn't really his, is it?"

"Is any of ours really?"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Blue Rose Headquarters**  
**Meeting Room**  
**32nd Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Alright, settle down ladies and gentlemen. Lady Nickole and I will be attending to the King's envoy for the coming Inter-Kingdom Summit," said Charlotte, standing in front of the table of her squad of all ranks. "Vice-Captain Lerola will be in charge while I'm gone. As Fuegoleon, our Wizard King, will also be away, you all will report to Captain Kaiser in the meantime. Any questions?"

One of the 20-something young ladies raised her hand. "Will we be going on co-op missions while you're gone?"

"No. Co-op missions are canceled for the time being. Also, Vice-Captain Lerola will distribute missions and no solo missions allowed until the threat of war is over," said Charlotte. "I expect every to do their duty with honor and respect while I'm gone."

"Hey, Captain, how's Captain Yami doing?"

"Oh my God, Wainsley, really? Big Sis doesn't need that right now," scolded Sol.

Charlotte's face flushed. "Ah, really, now, that's nothing to worry yourselves all about! We're fine!"

"I'm so happy for you, Charlotte," said Lady Nickole, grinning. She was sitting in a seat in the corner, arms crossed and dressed in her silver armor. Lady Nickole was a constant figure in Charlotte's life, just as Aunt Ruth, but Lady Nickole was more of a friend who was also a mother figure. "It's cute that you're getting so flustered."

"LADY NICKOLE, STOP TEASING ME."

"Never, little Char."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Meeting Room**  
**32nd Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Everyone! Let's welcome back our Vice-Captain from the brink of death," cheered Dorothy int the bouncy meeting room. Kirsch was cured of the curse, but he was still weak from being in bed for the last month so he still needed time to recover his strength.

"Stop telling people I almost died, Captain Dorothy," protested Kirsch. She was really glad that he looked lively than ever, despite getting his heart broken.

"Welcome back, Vice-Captain," said Levi. "You can do all the paperwork while you regain your strength."

"Yay! Vice-Captain is back!"

"Thanks everyone," said Kirsch, waving like he was in a parade. Dorothy was glad to see him back in his role of Vice-Captain, even if he still looked tired around the eyes. "Now, let's listen to Captain Dorothy for the news." And with Kirsch back in his spot as Vice-Captain, everyone fell in line and quieted down.

"No one from the Coral Peacocks will be going on the Summit missions as per my request," said Dorothy. "I will be going back to sleep tomorrow night. It was so much fun being awake this time around, but it's time. So, I expect you all to behave for Kirsch and Levi! I'll visit you in your dreams to train you all."

"As Coral Peacocks, we will uphold the standard as Magic Knights for everyone else while our Wizard King helps broker peace between the Spade and the Heart Kingdom," said Kirsch. Dorothy could cry. She did cry.

"You're so reliable, Kirsch," cried Dorothy, latching herself onto her Vice-Captain.

"Captain, get a hold of yourself. You're so embarrassing!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Azure Deer Headquarters**  
**Meeting Room**  
**32nd Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Okay, okay, everyone, let's settle down," said Rill. He called every Azure Deer available for this meeting. "Since myself and Clarity are going on the big mission protect the King, Vice-Captain Mackenzie is in charge! Behave while I'm gone."

"Ugh, Captain," said Fragil. "You and Clarity are the ones that need to behave on this mission. We'll be fine. Mackenzie basically runs the squad anyway."

Rill gasped. "Fragil, don't be mean to me!"

"I'm just telling you the truth, Captain Rill," said Fragil.

Mackenzie just sighed. "Now, now, Fragil, don't be too hard on the Captain. While he and Clarity are gone, we have work to do in the Capital."

"Oooh, what kind of important work," asked one of the junior members, excitedly.

Mackenzie grimaced.

"Babysitting duty of Captain Mereoleona's new daughters."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**Common Area**  
**32nd Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Noelle and Secre will be going on the mission to protect King Bloop," said Yami, picking his ear. "The rest of us got protect the rest of the Kingdom in the meantime. Like always."

"Uh, you know we can't call the King, "Bloop," Captain Yami," said Noelle, wincing. Every royal and noble knew about the current King's childhood nickname Bloop, given to him by his brother (his long deceased older brother, who should have been the King). "How did you find out about that nickname?"

"Oh? I always knew it, but Julius told me not to use it. And Julius is in the Heart Kingdom so," said Yami, "Bloop is an idiot, and he pissed me off the other day by adding more people to the envoy."

"Captain Kaiser already requested that I helped out the Coral Peacocks since Captain Dorothy is going to sleep," shouted Asta.

"Yeah, I'm leaving once the envoy leaves," said Zora.

Yami sighed. "Whatever, you brats. Just don't get into trouble or drag me into it."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Crimson Lions Headquarters**  
**Meeting Room**  
**32nd Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Alright, you idiots. I'll be gone again with my brother. Leo and Randall, you'll be in charge while I'm gone. I expect serious training out of you. I already got the Azure Deer picking up babysitting my girls. And so, you'll also be taking turns," explained Mereoleona, with no room for argument.

"Uh, Sis, I don't think you can commandeer two Magic Knight Squads for babysitting," said Leo. "Not that I won't keep an eye on the girls, but Mother and Father should be able to do it."

"And I need them to get used to people, what better way than having them spend time with the Crimson Lions, which will be their squad in a few years and the most passive squad, the Azure Deer," replied Mereoleona. "Just try to disagree."

"No worries, Captain Mereoleona, you can count on us," said Randall, covering Leo's mouth so the youngest brother would stop arguing with her. "Many of us have children of our own, so we'll be okay."

"That's a good squad! Well, I got to prepare, so I don't punch Bloop to the moon."

"SIS, THE NICKNAME, NO!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Dorothy's Room**  
**33rd Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

"Everything ready, Dorothy," asked William.

"Yep," said Dorothy, tiredly. "Kirsch is curse-free! So I can rest easier. I'm sure soon that Yuno will be cured, William." When Dorothy was going back to sleep after being up for a while, she always liked to go back to sleep in her bed and then after 8-10 hours of sleeping in a bed, she would function normally all the while she was sleeping and gathering her mana for her dream magic.

"Everyone will be here when you wake up. Visit me in my dreams," said William.

Dorothy laughed. "Of course! Good night, William." Dorothy laid on her bed and tucked herself under the covers.

Before he even could get out an evening blessing, she was already fast asleep. William smiled, gently fixing the blanket and put her hat on her hat stand. "Sweet dreams, love," he whispered. He gave her one last look before leaving the room where Kirsch, Patri and Levi were waiting outside.

"Captain's sleeping," asked Kirsch.

"Yes," replied William.

"Great. You and Patri can get out of here now, since Captain will visit your dreams," said Kirsch, dismissively. "Levi! We have paperwork to do!"

Levi rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Whatever you say, Vice-Captain."

William and Patri were left alone to find their way out. Patri was giving him a funny look. William frowned. "What?"

"Oh, nothing," said Patri, smirking. "Nothing at all. Shall we go home and figure out how to help Yuno?"

"Why do I think you're laughing at me?"

"Because I am."

"Patri!"

"What? I'm just being honest. Unlike a certain someone about his feelings for another certain someone," said Patri, still smirking. William sighed. He was never going to hear the end of this was he?

"Let's just go home, Patri."

**Aster**  
_(Meaning) Symbol of Love_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**33rd Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

Yuno sighed. Bell was sleeping already, so she was not babbling away as usual. Mimosa left earlier to get ready for her mission. Klaus, Alecdora, and Langris were all going on the mission, too, so they stopped by earlier to see him. It left William and Patri to run the Golden Dawn while Yuno was restlessly in his bed trying to come up with the words to tell Asta his feelings.

His talk with Sister Lily really made him think. All that thinking cause a new change in the flowers, Mimosa told him earlier. Aster flowers were spilling from his mouth. It was honestly the biggest joke.

"Goddamnit," muttered Yuno to himself.

Then, there was a knock on his door.

Not caring who it was at this hour of night, Yuno said gently for his pour throat was constantly on fire from the nearly full flowers spilling out of his lips. "Come in." To his surprise, it was Asta. He hadn't seen Asta since Asta and the Black Bulls ran off to break into the Spade Kingdom (It was eleven days ago and no, Yuno was not counting). Yuno was very glad that Asta hadn't gotten into too much trouble.

"Hey, how're ya feelin'?"

Yuno smirked, mouth tasting like metal from the blood, and his voice messed up from the stems. "Like shit."

Asta grimaced as he came over and sat himself at the end of Yuno's bed. "Your voice sounds really rough, Yuno. Is there anything that the healers can do?"

"No," rasped Yuno. He coughed a full Aster flower up. "The curse is _cough_ speeding up, according to _cough_ Lady Ruth."

Asta nervously gnawed on his bottom lip. "I thought she said ten weeks, it's been four!"

Yuno shrugged. "Curses _cough_ can be tricky."

Scrunching his face in frustration. "I hate that you're so nonchalant about this whole curse and dying thing, Yuno! Why are you so cool and calm even now? Huh? Geez. Ya make a guy worry."

Sighing, Yuno replied. "I'm a mess _cough_ when you're not _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ here."

"Don't put that strong face up in front of me, Yuno! I'm your best friend and rival. We've been through everything together," said Asta, almost yelling. He bounced the bed from his movements, making Yuno a bit nauseous. Asta thankfully noticed and stopped moving around so much. "Damnit, you jerk…!"

Yuno sighed. "If you're here to _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ scold me more, _cough_ _cough_ Asta, _cough_ I don't want to hear it."

Offended, Asta said, "I'm not actually here to argue with you. I need to talk to you and you're going to listen."

Yuno watched Asta grow quiet for a moment. Why was he so nervous? It was very unlike Asta. Yuno waited for Asta to be ready to talk. Whatever it was, Yuno knew it was important.

"So, uh," started Asta, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head. He breathed deeply before blurting out, "I love you, Yuno."

Yuno stared, eyes wide. What?

"I know that you love someone else and I respect that but…I can't stand it. I really can't! You won't say anything to that person because you fear rejection, so give me a chance. Fall in love with me!"

Yuno coughed.

And coughed.

Phlegm, blood, and flowers came out of his mouth and his body hurt.

And he was extremely confused.

What was happening?

_Ch. End_

* * *

Ahhhhhh!

Yell at me in the comments, just don't be too mad.

So, if you're wondering about the 'Bloop' thing-it's the Clover King's childhood nickname that he hates (that all the royals and the nobles know it but technically are banned from saying).

I REALLLY HOPED YOU LIKED THE CHAPTER.

Let me know your thoughts. I do like hearing from everyone.


	8. Chapter 8

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Welp, there was a six month time skip in Black Clover! I can't wait to see where this next arc in the manga goes...especially for Asta!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please forgive my lack of skill in writing action scenes. I hope I did it okay.

* * *

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Outside of Yuno's Room**  
**34th Day of the Curse**  
**Midnight**

Asta chewed on his bottom lip to the point that it was painful. He paced back and forth outside of Yuno's room, while Lady Ruth and Lady Solace had been called over to the Golden Dawn headquarters by William. The two healers had been in there with Yuno for a couple of hours and it was gnawing at Asta's heart that this was all his fault.

"It's not your fault," said the calm tone of the former Captain, William Vangeance, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. "Curses are unpredictable, you know this, Asta. Yuno's a strong wizard, he's going to be okay."

He stopped pacing to look at the composed former Captain and Asta sighed. "It is my fault. I said something I shouldn't have and he got upset."

"Doubtful," said William, shaking his head, disagreeing wholeheartedly with Asta's opinion.

Asta sighed again and continued his pacing. William fell silent. Asta appreciated the effort to soothe his worries from the rather soft-spoken man, but Asta felt extremely guilty. If only Asta had just kept his big mouth shut, Yuno's curse would not have gotten worse. But, no, the ONE time Asta thought to be selfish and this is what it got him.

Just then, the door to Yuno's room opened and out stepped Lady Solace. Leo, Captain Mereoleona and Mr. Fuegoleon's mother was a really nice lady and a good healer. "Ah, Captain William, and Asta, you're still here I see."

"How's Yuno," asked Asta, immediately.

Lady Solace set her mouth in a thin line at the question. "He's resting right now. We had to give him a sleeping tonic to do so. No visitors right now, Asta."

Asta nodding, frowning. "Okay, that's fine. I can wait until he's rested."

"Lady Solace," interjected William, gently. "Is there anything more we can do for Yuno?"

Lady Solace tilted her head and made a face. "Lady Ruth and I may have a lead on a cure, but it might be a dangerous one and Yuno may not want it. But until we know more, I won't be able to explain it. In the meantime, Yuno needs to eat some soft foods and drink more water."

"No worries. I'll have the kitchen staff stick to a soft foods diet for Yuno's meals," said William. "Thank you very much for coming. Mimosa is leaving for the mission so she needed all the rest she could before departing."

"Of course, Captain William," said Lady Solace, nodding. "Now, Asta, dear, you need to get some sleep. You look a bit pale."

"Oh, no, I'm fine, Lady Solace," said Asta, waving off the concern. He fully intended to wait outside of Yuno's room until it was okay to talk to him again. There were things he and Yuno really needed to discuss.

"It wasn't a suggestion," said Lady Solace, sternly, reminding Asta very much of Sister Lily when she was scolding him. "Captain William, I assume you have some guest rooms?"

Captain William nodded. "Yes, come, Asta. You can take a nap while Yuno's resting and talk to him later."

Asta had no choice but to follow.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Gate to the Royal Palace**  
**34th Day of the Curse**  
**Daybreak**

If there was one thing that Mimosa honestly hated, it was early morning departures, especially when she was on bodyguard duty to annoying people. The three Magic Knight Teams were surrounding the carriages where the King, his son, and the King's personal servants were sitting. And they were already complaining from the look on Mereoleona and Fuegoleon's twin faces of not being pleased.

She sighed. At least the trip wouldn't take too long since Langris was using his spatial magic to jump the whole entourage to the Neutral Zone. The trip should take no more than a day.

"Chin up, Mimosa," said her mother, Nickole, who was also on Team B with Mimosa. It was actually the first mission that she was ever going on with her mom, so Mimosa was a little excited to show her mother how much Mimosa improved over the years. "At least we don't have to do much of the interacting with the King. That's Mereoleona and Fuegoleon's job."

"That's a little mean, Mother," said Mimosa, smiling.

Suddenly, her name was being called by Mereoleona. "Mimosa! Get ready to put Langris in your healing pod after we get to the other side of the portal!"

"Yes, Captain Mereoleona," called out Mimosa. She looked over to her fellow Golden Dawn squadmate and Langris looked surly as ever. "I better go over to him, Mother." Nickole nodded and gave her a small smile. Mimosa hurried over to Langris.

"I can't believe they expect me to overexert myself," said Langris, annoyed as soon as she was next to him. "There are a dime a dozen spatial magic users, but no, they expect me to do it all by myself."

"You know that only team members and the Magic Knight Captains know of our departing time for safety," said Mimosa. "And I'll take care of you, don't worry, Langris!"

Langris turned a suspicious shade of red and coughed into his hand. He mumbled a thanks. They stood in an awkward silence when Fuegoleon called Langris to open the portal. Langris' grimoire glowed with his mana and the portal opened.

And so the journey began.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**34th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Zora finally was able to escape the well-meaning idiots who constantly wanted to take care of him. He slung his knapsack over his shoulder as he walked off into the forest surrounding the house. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he sure as hell wasn't going to stick around to think about feelings. Captain Yami knew how to contact him if there was a specific mission for Zora.

"Ah, glad I caught you, Zora Ideale!"

Zora sighed. It was Mariella, the assassin from the Diamond Kingdom that who Asta befriended. As she was bamboozled into being Asta's friend just like Zora, he sympathized with her. But he was not up for being friendly at the moment. "What do you want?"

"I have a letter for you from Sal Vermillion," said Mariella, handing him a letter.

Rolling his eyes, Zora took the letter. He read its contents and cursed Sal Vermillion to the ends of the earth. But at least it was something to do. The Spade Kingdom were assholes anyway. He ripped up the letter and asked, "Okay. So, take me to the streaker and the witch, and let's see what we can do. I can't believe Sal got you lot involved."

"We can hide better in plain sight," said Mariella, stoically. She got her broom, so Zora summoned his from his grimoire. "How is Asta, by the way?"

"He's having a crisis right now," said Zora, scoffing.

"Well, it's Asta. He'll be able to figure it out."

"Asta had better. None of us want to intervene in his personal relationship with his childhood friend," said Zora. It was taking everything in him not to just intervene, let alone everyone else in the Black Bulls. Maybe Zora should have just sat Asta down and told him straight out that Yuno was in love with him and Asta was in love with Yuno, so the two should get together, because they acted like a married couple all the time anyway.

"Ah, so it's about Yuno," said Mariella, knowingly. Mariella shook her head. "Well, let's get going and met up with the rest."

Zora nodded.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**34th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

After having a restless nap in one of the guest rooms at the Golden Dawn Headquarters, Yuno was finally awake and therefore, Asta was able to go and see him. Asta rarely got nervous, but right now, he regret eating the breakfast sent to him. His stomach was churning with nerves. Asta ran his hand through his hair, realizing that it was always a poofy, spiky mess, just entered Yuno's room, since the door was open.

Yuno was sitting up on his bed. Bell was scolding Yuno for scaring her and complaining very loudly in Yuno's ears. And true to Yuno's character, he was stoically staring off into the distance, ignoring every word that Bell yelled.

"Hey. How're ya feelin'," said Asta, gently and nervously.

"Fine," said Yuno, simply. His childhood friend began coughing more. Asta hurried over to get the bucket for Yuno. Once Yuno's coughing fit was over, Yuno glared at Asta and steely said, "I don't _cough_ need your pity, _cough_ Asta. I don't _cough_ want you to _cough_ lie to me to _cough_ try to help me. _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ Take it back or get out."

Asta's mouth opened in objection. Yuno was getting straight to the point. But snapped it shut because Asta realized that Yuno didn't believe Asta when Asta told him that he was in love with Yuno. Why didn't Yuno believe him? Yuno was always the first person to believe in him. It was why they had become rivals. Yuno knew that Asta wasn't a liar nor someone to say certain things lightly. It hurt more than Asta could actually process that Yuno didn't think Asta was being sincere in his feelings.

"I won't take it back," snapped Asta. "Because it's true! I love you, Yuno!"

"Stop _cough_ saying it," demanded Yuno.

"No, you stop it. What's wrong with you," yelled Asta. "You think I would just say something I don't mean? Where is the guy that always believed in me, huh?"

"Get out," Yuno said dismissively.

Asta bristled in anger, barely even noticing the agitated flying about that Bell was doing listening to this argument. The poor wind spirit was clearly distressed and Asta would have to apologize later to her. This was the most arguing that Yuno and Asta ever did in their lives side-by-side. Asta didn't like it.

"Fine."

And Asta stormed out of the room.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Crimson Lions Headquarters**  
**Kitchens**  
**34th Day of the Curse**  
**Noon**

True to his sister's word, Leopold was stuck on babysitting duty. His mom had to run off to run off to check out Yuno. In addition, his father was off at his office. The girls were dropped off that morning and the rest of the Crimson Lions promptly fled to do "other duties." Leopold didn't really mind because he wanted to be a good uncle. He just would have liked some help. They had a lot of energy.

Hanima and Sabriel were busy now stuffing their faces of food made by whomever was on kitchen duty that day. They were babbling together in between bites their language that Leopold didn't understand (northern Spade maybe?).

"Blue, aren't you hungry," asked Leo, as he worriedly watch Blue pick at her plate of food for the last ten minutes and stare listlessly at a spot on the wall. "Do you feel sick?" He really hoped she wasn't sick.

Blue looked at Leopold and didn't respond.

Leopold winced. Maybe she didn't understand. He sighed. He patted his stomach and then pointed to hers. "Hurt?"

Blue shook her head.

"Okay, so you're not sick," responded Leopold. "Are you sad?"

Thankfully, Blue understood and she slowly nodded. Then, she went back to poking her fork at her food on the plate.

"Why?"

"Mereo," said Blue, listlessly. "Gone."

Leopold wanted to smack himself for being an idiot. Of course, the girls would miss Mereoleona, especially Blue (since Blue was the only one that really was able to communicate with Mereoleona). She hadn't gone on a mission since she brought the girls to the Vermillion Homestead, only going to meetings. Mereoleona spent a lot of time with them over the past few weeks and the adoption was even finalized.

"Oh," said Leopold. "Well, Mereo-sis will be back. She had to go, uh, protect some people. She's strong, you know? Til she comes back, you got me. I'm Mereo's little brother, after all."

Blue titled her head in confusion, seemingly processing his words. "Leo. No leave."

Leopold wanted to cry. The girls had been shuffled about since coming here. Spending time with Leo's parents, Mereo, and Fuego, not to mention, Miss Shula, Lady Ruth and Vice-Captain Vivian to check when they were able to take off the seals so that the girls would get access to their magic. Was it weird to have this intense need to take care of one's nieces? "You wanna stay here until Mereo-sis comes back?"

Blue looked at Leopold and then said some words to Hanima and Sabriel. The three girls looked at Leo throughout their conversation that he was not privy to understand.

"Stay," said Blue, nodding, firmly.

Leopold nodded. "Okay."

Assured, Blue finally began eating along with the other girls.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**Common Area**  
**34th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"So, we gonna talk about it," asked Vanessa.

"If our Little Rasta doesn't want to talk, you know he won't," said Magna. He, Vanessa, Charmy, Gordon, Finral, Finesse and Ember were sitting all around the room. Henry was off in the corner in order not to zap their mana, while Magna's mother was in the kitchen. Vanessa was talking about Asta storming home, and running upstairs without say a word.

"He looked so sad," said Finesse, sympathetically. "Do you suppose that he needs some water and food?"

"Charmy will bring him something later," said Finral, patting Finesse's hand. Magna rolled his eyes at Finral. Finral finally having a girlfriend (or were they going to get married?) was weird.

"We can't just leave it. I'm worried that Asta will be his normally considerate self and take Yuno's silence as rejection," said Vanessa, pursing her lips. She looked anxiously at the stairs to the upper level of the house.

"Yeah, but it won't mean anything if we meddle," said Magna. "When people are in love, they can't have others involving themselves in their relationship."

"Communication is key," said Charmy, munching on some cookies. "My parents always said that!"

"If I can interject," said Ma Shula, coming over from the kitchen, as she was sharpening the kitchen knives.

"Please, Ma," said Magna. "Asta's been quite moody lately."

"He and this guy Yuno have been childhood friends, growin' up in the same orphanage, right? Sometimes, when you are so close to someone, if you know someone so well, you are blinded to the truth. Asta can't see that Yuno loves 'im and Yuno can't see that Asta love 'im. You seeing what I'm sayin'?"

"Wait, you are saying that they are too close that they are assuming they know the other the best," Vanessa said, incredulously.

"Pretty much."

"Oh my God, they just need to sit down and talk without arguing," whined Vanessa, taking a swing of her beer.

"Which normally wouldn't be a problem, since they don't really argue. At least, not until Yuno got this stupid curse," said Finral, slightly complaining.

"Because not only is Asta worried, he's hurt that he didn't know a most important thing about his best friend," said Ma Shula, nodding. "Someone does need to talk to Asta, I think and break it to him gently what he's misunderstandin'."

"NOT IT," screamed Vanessa, Finral, Gordon, Charmy and Magna. All of them to no success had tried to talk about feelings with Asta. Magna did not want to have Asta giving him the silent treatment anymore.

"Well, I don't know he'd listen to me since we don't know each other very well," said Finesse.

"And how humans love is very different from how dragons love," said Ember, shaking his head, deadpan. Everyone turned to look at Ma Shula.

Ma Shula sighed, put her hands on her hips.

"I suppose I gotta for everyone's peace of mind."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Vermillion Homestead**  
**Office of Aldebrand Vermillion**  
**34th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"This could possibly divide House Silva," said Tarian Vermillion.

"Agreed," replied Aldebrand.

Nozel came to both of them with his plan to finally become the proper head of House Silva, effectively shutting down his grandmother's plans. They were sitting in Aldebrand's office, discussing the matter, but both of them seemed less than excited about helping Nozel, but not because there was any love between the Vermillion main family and the Silva main family, despite loose familial relations.

"I don't think that the Magic Parliament would be too pleased with the move either. Your grandmother is a highly influential royal and even so, she would be allowed in the Magic Parliament by way of the noble house she had been born," explained Tarian, probably seeing the disgruntled look on Nozel's face.

"I understand the reservations," said Nozel. "But I will be unable to do it without your guidance."

Aldebrand sighed and looked to the heavens, asking for guidance from Nozel's mother. "And here I thought that Noelle was the one most like you, Acier…Nozel. As much as I want to change everything for the better, you have to proceed with caution. I'm not telling you to cease, but I'm just saying do this endeavor with intelligence and grace."

"And basically in a way that won't piss off the Magic Parliament to the point where you get put on trial," said Tarian, arms crossed. "When Nickole tried to get custody of the four of you, all hell broke loose. We cannot pit the Vermillion and Silva at each other when we are basically holding together the kingdom."

"Prince Con might stop the string of bad luck," said Aldebrand, gently to his sister.

Nozel pinched the bridge of his nose. "I won't implicate any of you. If I mess up I will take the blame, but let's be hypothetical about it, alright? What would you do if you were in my place?"

Aldebrand and Tarian looked at each other and in that moment, Nozel saw the stark similarities in them and the closeness of a brother and sister. He had seen that in Mereoleona and Fuegoleon too.

"Well…"

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Castle**  
**35th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Noelle thought that Poppy Castle was a bit dour to host an inter-kingdom conference, but as she and the three teams, along with the complaining Clover King, the poor staff and young Prince Constantine, stood in front of the mahogany doors, she was glad that this meeting was possible. Poppy Castle was a safe haven for any travelers, but used as a neutral location for the meeting of the monarchs of the Four Great Powers (Spade, Diamond, Clover and Heart) to discuss military, economic and other such high state matters. The castle itself was owned by the Prospekt Family for many generations. There were even rumors that the family were not human, but some sort of magical creature.

Lady Prospekt looked ordinary enough when she exited the front doors to greet them. She had a long flowing robes, ebony hair and red eyes. She was very beautiful, but Noelle noted that there was a great power in Lady Prospekt.

"Welcome, denizens of the Kingdom of Clover. I am Lady Prospekt," she introduced herself. "Before we continue, I shall remind everyone of the rules of the Poppy Estate. There will be no fighting with magic or without magic between the kingdoms' citizens. This is a place of neutrality that must be maintained. Only the Clover King, the Clover King's heir, the Wizard King, and three chosen attendants may be allowed to enter Poppy Castle for the duration of the conference between monarchs. The remaining guests will be required to stay at Poppy Manor for the duration. Same rules apply at the Manor as the Castle. The conference will last until the matter at hand is fully discussed and solved. If there are any objections, please speak now."

No one said anything. Thankfully, Damnatio covered the mouth of the Clover King so things wouldn't start off on a bad foot.

Lady Prospekt nodded, "Very well. You are the first to arrive. My son, Young Master Prospekt, will lead the excess attendants to the Poppy Manor." A young boy appeared out of nowhere, looking like a smaller version of his mother, but much more cheerful.

"This way! This way!"

The boy was already taking off, causing Charlotte, Sal and the rest to chase after him. It left Noelle, Mereoleona, and Rill, along with Fuegoleon, and the two Royals.

"Please enter. We'll let you get settled while we wait for the other kingdom's entourages to arrive," said Lady Prospekt.

Noelle steeled herself as the group of six entered the eerie Poppy Castle, following after the mysterious proprietor inside. She kind of wished Asta were here. He would have already made friends with Lady Prospekt and probably gotten in trouble.

"Steady, Noelle," said Mereoleona, shooting her a grin. "We got this."

Noelle nodded. She knew they would be fine. Noelle knew the plan. She was in charge of Prince Constantine (or Prince Con as he was called), while Mereoleona kept an eye on any changes in the other people, while Rill was to protect the Clover King. She walked over to Prince Con, who was nearly fifteen years old and looking rather nervous to be there. He was the older of the twin children of the Clover King and therefore, the heir. Prince Con, however, was the smaller and the more passive. Noelle just liked to think he was the nicer twin. Prince Con's twin sister made Solid on his worst days look like a saint.

She took his hand in hers. "Don't worry, Prince Con. I'm here."

The young Prince Con just squeezed her hand tightly.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Coral Peacocks Headquarters**  
**Vice-Captain's Office**  
**35th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Kirsch felt better than ever. Things were back to normal, well, as normal as it could be considering that the Captain just went back into hibernation mode for the foreseeable future and that Zora knew about Kirsch's feelings. At least, his office was in order. "Good job keeping Asta from ruining my system, Levi."

"It wasn't hard. Asta's actually not as stupid as you think, it just takes him a minute," replied Levi. "So, what's the plan today, Vice-Captain?"

"Training, of course," said Kirsch. "I know you all have been slacking while I was out of commission."

Levi rolled his eyes. "Well, no shit. Team duo and trio training?"

"Of course," said Kirsch.

The knock at the door interrupted them. "It's me!"

"Come in, Asta," said Kirsch, hefting a big sigh. Asta entered the room and both Kirsch and Levi physically winced at Asta's deep circles under his eyes. "Are…you ok? You looked like you didn't sleep."

"Yeah, man, you look rough," said Levi, concerned.

Asta shook his head. "No, I'm fine. It's fine. Captain Kaiser sent me over to help."

Kirsch and Levi traded worried looks, before Kirsch said, "Very well. You know where the training area is, correct? Go there and warm-up the people there. Levi and I have a few things to finish before we head over, alright?"

Asta nodded and left the room without complaint or arguing or his usual gusto.

"Holy shit," sighed Levi. "He looks like crap."

Kirsch shook his head. "No. He looks like he got his heart broken. Is it strange that I feel the sudden urge to deck Yuno?"

"Same. Should we do something?"

"There's nothing we can do. Yuno's being a stubborn asshole for some reason and Asta is oblivious to what's right in front of his face," said Kirsch. "Anyone can tell when they are together how much they love each other. Fools in love."

"Says the man who didn't know he was in love with Zora."

"Shut up, don't tease me. I'm too beautiful for that," replied Kirsch, jokingly.

"I feel the need to punch you in your face, Vice-Captain, for Lady Mimosa's sake."

"Your words hurt, Levi," fake gasped Kirsch.

"Yeah, right," said Levi, rolling his eyes. "You know, I just realized that Asta is a beast about training, we may need to go rescue our squadmates."

"Oh, nuggets."

**Red Roses**  
_(Meaning) Deep Love_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**35th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"You're an idiot. A moron. A stubborn, beautiful moron, but still! Why are you so blind?!" Bell had been screeching insults at him since he woke up that morning, attempting to eat some farina, while she bellowed in his ears. Bell had been furious with him since Asta's attempt at a confession to trick the curse out of him.

Yuno replied, "Please _cough_ shut up, Bell."

Bell's face turned red. "Thick-headed numskull! You and that magic-less idiot deserve each other. Of course, Asta is in love with you! He is! I know it, everyone knows it but you. You can't see it!"

Yuno scowled at her. "Stop trying _cough_ to make me _cough_ feel better _cough_ _cough_ _cough_ _cough_"

She snapped. "Why are you so afraid of getting what you want?! Asta won't say something like that, unless he meant it in his whole being. He's not a liar. You know this, Yuno!"

Yuno had no response for his wind spirit, as he tried to take a bite (a sip?) of farina so he wouldn't die of starvation on top of having his lungs and throat destroyed by a curse. Bell made an unholy sound of rage, before activating her own wind magic and rushing out of the room.

Ah, finally, Yuno thought to himself, some peace and quiet while he finished his breakfast. He will worry about things with Asta later.

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Castle**  
**35th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

Jules already hated this conference idea as he walked into the waiting room of Poppy Castle with his mom, Cousin Marilla and Captain Stowe. The Clover team was already there. Jules reflexively glared at the Clover King, since the man looked like Jules' useless father.

"Queen Ophelia, it's good to see you back on your feet," greeted the Wizard King, Fuegoleon Vermillion, immediately shaking his mother's hand

"Ah, thank you, Lord Fuegoleon," said his mother. "Young Edward Kairos came with us, but he's heading to the manor with my protective detail."

Fuegoleon nodded. "Of course. Thank you for keeping him safe, while we sorted business."

"Ah, my dear sister-in-law," interrupted the Clover King, "this wait is a killer on my mood. Why couldn't you just not declare war on the Spade Kingdom?"

Jules' mother and the Wizard King both stood up straighter and turned to the Clover King and began speaking to him like he was an idiot (because he was). Jules rolled his eyes as Captain Stowe and Mereoleona Vermillion (everyone knew her from her reputation) sized each other up. Cousin Marilla already found herself a corner to watch things, as she was still very jumpy from her time in the Spade Kingdom fighting pits.

Jules spotted his cousin Con. Con was alright, if not a bit shy. Jules didn't see Theodora anywhere, which was a blessing in disguise. What got Jules was that Con was basically cowering by the prettiest woman he had seen in his sixteen-year-old life. From her robes, he knew that she was a Magic Knight in the Black Bulls squad, but her silver hair and her family crest gave her away as a Silva Family royal.

Jules unconsciously fluffed his hair and went to go introduce himself, when the other Clover Magic Knight came over to bother him before he even moved in the direction of the royal woman.

"Hi! I'm Rill. The Captain of the Azure Deer squad. Wanna be friends?" The childish looking man immediately reminded Jules of Uncle Julius and that annoyed him.

"No."

When was Jules going to be rid of weirdos?

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Common Realm**  
**35th Day of the Curse**  
**Evening**

"Thanks for coming, Zora," said Fanzell, "We've been tracking several Spade Kingdom agents recently."

Zora nodded, arms crossed. He was willing to hear things out. "Alright, so what's stopping ya from dragging them to the nearest Magic Knight outpost and putting them in jail?"

"Well, we aren't Clover citizens or Magic Knights," said Fanzell. "With Miss Sal busy elsewhere, we needed someone that would be able to officially arrest them." Other than Sal, Asta was the reason why Zora wasn't going off to do this on his own. Asta was trained by this man Fanzell, so Zora was interested to see what he was like as a wizard.

"Right, right," said Zora. "Do you have evidence that they are up to shit?"

Mariella interjected. "Yes. I have followed several of them to their meetings. Clearly they are on orders from the Spade Kingdom military higher-ups to sow discord between Clover's commoner population and the nobility."

"That'd be considered heresy," said Zora. He had gone after enough people in his duty as a Magic Knight to know most of the ins-and-outs of law in practice. The first few times Zora took on a corrupt noble or royal, he didn't have any evidence so, other than the beating they got courtesy of Zora, the assholes were free to go without any other repercussions. Zora learned quickly to game the system put in place to protect said corrupt nobility over the average person to clean up the Magic Knights. It was better when Julius became the Wizard King, because Julius took corruption and failure to do duty seriously. "I need actual proof."

"What would be considered actual proof," asked Mariella, confused. Things were different in Diamond.

"Letters, documents, copies of orders, signed confessions," said Zora. "Even though, it is most likely that they are Spade Kingdom spies, it'll be easier to keep them in prison and not get out on a technicality, let's not to leave anything to chance."

"I'm glad Sal recommended that we get you to help us," said Fanzell, cheerfully. "You sound like you know what you're doing."

"I would fucking hope so," said Zora, scoffing. "Alright, assassin girl, what do you got? I know you're a thorough sort of person from Asta."

Mariella nodded. "I might have the actual proof, as you call it, already back at our hideout. If you think it's enough, we just have to capture them and put magic blockers on them for transport to the nearest jail."

Zora nodded. "Well, lead the way, you two."

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Manor**  
**36th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Julius had met Lady Prospekt and her husband many years ago during his tenure as the Captain of the Grey Deer squad. Despite the apparent creepiness of the Poppy Estate, the Prospekt family were actually just witches and wizards from a long family lineage, who made it their life mission to take care of people who were lost or needed some place to be that was peaceful. Julius knew that there many older witches and wizards who retired here. He was slightly disappointed to be stuck in the Manor and not being able to roam the true extent of the Halls of Poppy Castle.

It was, however, nice to be back with his Clover Magic Knights. He was glad that Fuegoleon thought it best to have Sal, Nickole, Bennett and Charlotte. Julius would had picked them as well, if he was still the Wizard King. The Heart Kingdom squads were nice enough wizards but they were very seriously trained and to them, he was just a kid.

Mimosa and Klaus were fussing over Langris, who over-exerted himself using his spatial magic to get a head start on travel at the start of the mission. Charlotte, Bennett, and Sal were playing cards with several of the Heart Kingdom soldiers, trading their "war stories." Secre was in her bird form, sitting on Mimosa's head. Xerx and Alecdora were in a deep discussion, mostly complaining about their annoying juniors. Clarity was busy in her own little word, sketching in her pad, using a simple pencil (since magic was not to be used). Damnatio was scowling in a chair in the corner, completely ignored by everyone else there.

Julius startled when Lady Prospekt's voice echoed through the Manor.

"_The Spade and Diamond Kingdom group have arrived. The excess people of both parties will be arriving shortly at the Manor. Mind the rules, everybody, please and thank you."_

It was Bennett Vermillion who spoke up. "I know it may be hard, but no fighting. That goes for everyone. Things are tense enough as it is."

"Agreed," said Charlotte, arms crossed.

Moments later, the son of Lady Prospekt led the small retinues of Diamond and Spade wizards into the Manor. The Heart Kingdom and the Spade Kingdom soldiers glared at each other, while the Diamond Kingdom soldiers quietly found a corner to hide, though a couple of them seem to be looking around the room for someone. (Probably Asta, Julius mused silently to himself). The tension was palpable.

"This is gonna be a long conference," sighed Nickole, who had been taking a short nap, sitting next to him, the entire time. Nickole, along with Acier and Aldebrand, was one of the people that Julius had been able to look towards for guidance, as they were his seniors in both nobility and the Magic Knights.

"No doubt, Lady Nickole," said Julius, looking at the faces of most in the room was either uncomfortable or angry. "No doubt."

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Castle**  
**36th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Jules was going to lose his mind with boredom as they sat in the conference hall. The table in the conference hall was a round one. So the setting arrangements were very awkward. He sat next to his mother. On his mother's other side was the Wizard King Fuegoleon. On Jules' other side was the Diamond Princess. At least, he didn't have to sit next to the Spade Princess or Spade King, which would have been the worst. It was a bit awkward, however, to have the guards of everyone sit up in the balcony in the room.

Lord Prospekt, the husband of Lady Prospekt, was the moderator for the conference so that the items of discussion were actually addressed. He spoke, calmly, "Thank you all for coming in a timely manner. The first order of business today is to review the bylines of the inter-kingdom conference, outline the purpose of this meeting, and for each Kingdom's monarch to give opening remarks."

As the Heart Kingdom's only Prince and the heir, Jules knew that he would have to spend a great deal of time in meetings (he already attended a lot of meetings in place of his mother, which were horrendously boring). He wanted to bang his head against the table. He felt his mother jab him in the arm, but she looked unfazed, mouth in a stern line as she listened attentively to Lord Prospekt. Properly scolded, Jules knew he had to pay attention. It wouldn't be beyond his mother to randomly quiz him later.

Lord Prospekt had not stopped speaking, while Jules was getting lost in his own mind. "When there is a diplomatic matter that cannot be solved between two or more parties such as the one that we face now, a conference can be called by one of the Kingdoms. In order to facilitate peace and avoid the struggles of war, the Poppy Estate is a safe, neutral haven for a conference to take place. My Lady gave you all packets, which are handwritten copies of the original agreement by the Four Great Powers Monarchs. I ask you to look at the top of page 1…"

It was times like these that Jules was reminded that he didn't really want to be a Prince or an heir. What he wouldn't give to not have to suffer meetings, stuffy old men and women who only knew how to argue or tell you about "back in their day," or do endless amounts of paperwork. The only part of being a Prince he liked was being able to help protect and care for his people.

The old moderator (Jules assumed he was old; Jules was only sixteen, after all) continued to go through painstakingly slow each of the 20 pages of the original agreement. Jules held back a groan, as his mother pinched his arm to scold him yet again and make sure that he was paying attention.

One mind-numbing hour later, Lord Prospekt finally got to the main point, "Today, and for the next few days even, we are here to discuss the matter between the Heart and Spade Kingdoms. The two kingdoms already declared war against each in an official capacity. In order to cease an actual clash between armies on a battlefield and avoid unnecessary bloodshed, the purpose of this conference is to figure out a way, diplomatically, settle this particular matter between the Heart and Spade Kingdoms. Now, let us begin with opening remarks from each of the monarchs. We shall start with the Clover Wizard King, in place of the Clover King, as per their request and then move to the Diamond Princess, in place of her father the Diamond King, as per their request. We shall follow her with the Spade King and then, lastly the Heart Queen. Lord Fuegoleon, if you would start please."

Jules straightened in his seat. They were finally getting somewhere, as the Wizard King stood up to address the room. "Thank you very much for the detailed explanations, Lord Prospekt. I shall start by introducing myself for those who may not know me. I am the Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom Magic Knight squads, Fuegoleon Vermillion of the Royal House Vermillion. Our King, Augustus Kira Clover XIII, has instructed me to explain the Clover Kingdom's official stance on the matter between the Heart and Spade Kingdoms."

No one in the room believed that the Clover King wrote anything, of course, as Fuegoleon continued, "The Clover Kingdom believes that war should be a last resort, especially concerning matters that could have been avoided diplomatically. We are here to get the whole story and help figure out a way to stop an impending war."

Jules frowned. He barely knew the whole story himself, though he knew things started when the Spade King's oldest son kidnapped one of his mother's cousins and killed her.

"I shall give the floor to the Diamond Princess."

The twenty-something year old Diamond Princess stood up as Fuegoleon sat down. Jules tried to remember her name, but everyone just called her the Diamond Princess. She was a tall dark haired and eyed woman, who barely looked anything like her greyed elderly father, who looked to be sleeping at this point. From his lessons, he knew that that Diamond Kingdom's heir was not based on birth order, but whatever child was the most powerful.

"I am Klotilde Rex Diamond, the seventh daughter of the Diamond King, the heir to the throne, and the General-Commandant," said Princess Klotilde. "I, too, will read a prepared statement. This is the official stance of the Diamond Kingdom. The Diamond Kingdom understands the severity of the actions taken by the Spade and Heart Kingdoms. Normally, we do not bother with other Kingdom's matters, but a ground war could be severely damaging, not only to life, but also the balance of magic in the world. We are here to help settle the matter without a ground war. Thank you. Your Majesty, the Spade King, I give the floor to you."

Jules felt his mother reach for his hand.

The Spade King, King Othmar Wolfgang Spade, was an impressive man, power exuded from him in droves without even releasing his mana. He was in his sixties, but no doubt would be able to take anyone in the room, except maybe Mereoleona Vermillion. The grey, grizzled and gruff man stood and said, simply, "This is all bullshit. That demon woman killed my son. She and the rest of those nature-loving freaks will get what's coming to them."

Immediately, his mother, who was not impressive in stature, but otherwise a steely queen. Her rage was evident in her tone. "Your monster of a son kidnapped and killed my cousin! My cousin did nothing to anyone ever. Was I supposed to just let it go? My father once let it go that you, yourself _Othmar_, killed his sister, my aunt! But I will not be threatened by you or your kin!"

Jules saw Cousin Marilla standing in the balcony, just waiting to strike. It was her youngest sister that had been the victim.

Things were devolving fast.

"Enough! This is unbecoming of monarchs of the Four Powers. We can get in the details later," barked Fuegoleon, getting everyone's attention. Jules' mother and the Spade King sat down, both death glaring each other. Lord Prospekt watched with blank eyes, just seeing where things were going to go. "Now. I think we all understand the points of the Heart and Spade Kingdoms. What's next, Lord Prospekt?"

Jules sighed.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Common Realm**  
**36th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"We need an actual plan," said Dominante, the wife-witch of Fanzell. "The last time we went somewhere without an actual plan, things fell apart in the Witches' Forest."

"But between the four of us, we'll be able to get this over with, dearest," said Fanzell.

Zora glared at the married couple. The assassin girl actually had gathered enough evidence that all they needed to go was to capture the Spade Kingdom people living in Clover, but the married couple was arguing about the plan of attack. He almost wished that he had the usual people he worked with because they generally had the same wavelength and the plans were not really plans but loose ideas that tended to work out in their favor.

He really even wouldn't have minded Kirsch there, despite the possible awkwardness.

"Why don't we just stalk them until we catch them off guard? And I'll just need her," said Zora, pointing to Mariella. "You two can stay here with Fana." Zora was wary of the girl Fana, as she had been manipulated into being a member of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, because that had to have some psychological repercussions. He would rather have the Diamond wizard and his wife watching Fana, while he and Mariella got the Spade Kingdom spies. She had been in the kitchen making food the entire time he was in their safe house.

"I, too, agree with Zora," said Mariella, stoically.

Fanzell and Dominante looked at each other. Fanzell responded, "I suppose if you think you can handle it."

Zora glared. "Of course, I can, dumbass. And she's scarily efficient, according to the idiot kid."

"Alright, I suppose that is best."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**36th Day of the Curse**  
**Nighttime**

Asta turned over on his side again, for the umpteenth time. He hadn't sleep well at all in days. He knew he needed to sleep. Everyone noticed that he was off—even Kirsch was worried! He grumbled and sat up in his bed. Yuno won't let him visit anymore. William and Patri and the others at the Golden Dawn had to turn him away, apologizing because they don't want Yuno to get worked up and get worse. Asta understood the reason why, but he and Yuno needed to talk. Next time, he was going listen more and not let his worry make him pushy.

He hated arguing with Yuno. They honestly had never done it much in their lives, petty childhood squabbles and rival banter aside.

"Dang it!"

"_**Can you stop with the angst pity-party, kid? It's really pathetic and it's gettin' annoying."**_

Asta looked over to where his grimoire lay and said nothing but rolled his eyes. The grimoire was opened and the anti-magic demon's head was sitting out of its pages. His demonic energy swirled around the room, but Asta knew that he wasn't in danger (well, not any more than he normally was, on a regular basis).

Over the years that Asta had been aware of the anti-magic demon, they had come to an agreement. Asta used the abilities of the anti-magic demon, the demon didn't try to forcefully take over Asta's body anymore (the demon does try sometimes, but it's mostly half-hearted attempts that had nothing on Asta's willpower). Together, they promised to help combat any other demons from breaking into the human world.

The demon who said his name was Nelchael (but Asta knew that it probably wasn't the name of the demon) spoke again, _**"Kid, I'm gonna tell ya somethin' that you ain't gonna like…"**_

"You always do," said Asta, rolling his eyes. When _wasn't_ the demon putting terrible thoughts in Asta's head?

The demon scoffed. _**"Rude. Anyway, I hate to break it to you…but you can fall in love with more than one person at different points in your life. Findin' your one true love is a bunch of bullshit. There's no such thing as a soulmate. No such thing as The One. Relationships are built on mutual trust and understanding. I want you to understand those facts."**_

"Yeah, no shit, Nel," snapped Asta. He wasn't some loves-truck moron. He knew how relationships worked, how all kind of relationships work. Asta growled and glared at his demon. "What is your damn point?"

"_**I just wanted to say it because I don't want you to think I'm some sort of a romantic, kid. Because you and that pretty boy's relationship is a strong one. So, don't let your stubbornness and your worryin' nature get your emotions riled. Keep a level head. You know him best. Who do you think he's in love with, huh? It's you, it can only be you, for fuck's sake. He's afraid that because of the curse and his admiration of you, he thinks you're just trying to trick the curse into breaking itself. That you don't mean it because he wants you to mean it. So, prove that you mean it. If your words won't move him out of his stubbornness, your actions will."**_

Asta scrunched his face.

"Well, I guess I wasn't needed to give ya a pep talk, after all," said Ma Shula, standing at the doorway of Asta's room. Asta knew that someone was going to be sent to talk to him, but he can't believe everyone convinced Ma Shula to come and do it. "Freaky demon is right. Woo your man, Asta. It's the only way."

"_**Nicely said, crazy lady."**_

Asta just looked at Ma Shula and then the demon. "How do I do that?"

"That is something only you know, since you know Yuno best. What he likes, he doesn't like, his hobbies, things like that," said Ma Shula. "Gifts are a good place to start."

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Castle**  
**37th Day of the Curse, 2nd Day of the Summit**  
**Morning**

It was official. Jules found the person that he hated most in this world. Princess Eleanor Wolfgang Spade was the worst person in the world. She was a bitter girl. Her snide comments and biting words made her generally unpleasant. Jules would have felt bad that her father was just as mean towards her, clearly wishing that his original heir was still alive, but if she said one more nasty comment to poor Cousin Con, Jules was gonna fight her. The rules be damned.

The first day of the Summit was filled with more filler than a jelly doughnut—if Jules heard that "Tradition must be followed" one more time he was going to scream. He almost wished that Uncle Julius was there, as he was very good as dispelling tension and getting people to get along with each other. Almost.

Today, both the Heart and Spade Kingdoms will be present their case, followed by commentary by the Clover and Diamond Kingdoms. Basically, his mother was going to go first, followed by King Othmar. Princess Klotilde and Wizard King Fuegoleon would comment afterwards. Then the discussions will start on how to resolve it without a large-full scale land war that would be devastated to the average person.

His mother was standing up. She and Uncle Julius spent the trip to the Poppy Estate preparing her argument to sway both Clover and Diamond to her side. It might help convince King Othmar to not start a war. Jules doubted it, however.

"I shall start at the beginning, where I think the Heart and Spade Kingdom's conflict began," started his mother. "My father, God rest his soul, King Octavian Theodore Nova Heart III, had five brothers and sisters. His youngest sister, Princess Margaret Serenity Nova Heart, had traveled often. However, on one of her trips outside of the Heart Kingdom's protective borders, she ran into then-Crown Prince of Spade, Othmar Wolfgang Spade."

Jules saw Othmar's face twist into pure rage, but he had been thoroughly admonished yesterday so he glared, instead of starting an argument. Jules glared at the Spade King.

"We know the details of the encounter from Princess Margaret's guard. Princess Margaret and Othmar immediately clashed. And I mean it. They fought. The Nova Heart family's magic is the strongest in Heart, so Princess Margaret was an amazing wizard. The guard of both royals managed to pull them away from each other, thinking that it was over," said Jules' mother. "But it wasn't. A few weeks later, Princess Margaret was in the neutral territory by the border of the Hear Kingdom. We don't know why but she lost her guard and went off on her own. Two days later, they found her body. Thanks to several of our wizards' specific magic affinities, we soon found out that she had been murdered by Othmar."

Othmar rose from his seat, Princess Eleanor attempting to pull her father back down to his chair. "That's a goddamn lie! I told Octavian I didn't kill Margie!"

"Sit down, King Othmar. You will get your chance to tell your side of the story shortly," reprimanded Lord Prospekt, giving a stern glance at the Spade King. Jules winced.

His mother continued her story, without blowing up in anger herself as she was reprimanded yesterday as well. "My father, being a kind and just man, knew the repercussions of taking action against the Spade Kingdom for the murder of my aunt. He closed the matter. Then we fast forward to five years ago, when my cousin, Wynda Nova Heart, a teenager at the time, had been traveling between the Clover Kingdom and the Heart Kingdom for personal reasons. That's when she also had a run-in with a royal from the Spade Kingdom. This time, it was Othmar's oldest son and his heir at the time, Prince Aric Wolfgang Spade who accosted and tried to force himself on my cousin. Wynda was a soft-hearted girl, but not weak. A fight ensued. Marilla, Wynda's older sister and my other cousin, who is in the balcony at the moment, had arrived in time to see Prince Aric fleeing the scene, where Wynda was bleeding out. It was too late."

Jules had been eleven when he attended Cousin Wynda's funeral, the first of many in his family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins were dying left and right, the palace filling with political assholes looking to gain power, it irritated Jules to no end.

His mother frowned. "The next part of the story was, in fact, my fault. I take full responsibility for my actions followed the murder of my cousin. I instructed one of my nameless assassins, the Flower Curse wizard, to inflict one of his curses on Prince Aric. Prince Aric was dead in 10 weeks. After that, the nameless assassin was framed for murders and exiled so that the blame would not officially fall on me. Now we come to the part of the story that began on Remembrance Day in the Clover Kingdom, where I was appearing to gift the Magic Knights in honor my old friend Julius Novachrono. The nameless assassin sought revenge on me and inflicted me with one of his curses, as well as many Clover citizens and Magic Knights. It was, at that time, the Spade King saw his opening to get his revenge against me. That's when the Spade assassins began coming for me. Seeing the danger, Wizard King Fuegoleon assigned a team of Magic Knights to escort me home to the safety of the Heart Kingdom barrier. Nearing the border of the Heart Kingdom, we were attacked by Spade Kingdom army wizards. Shortly thereafter, the Spade Kingdom declared war against the Heart Kingdom. In turn, we declared war against them."

Jules was glad that his mother got through the speech without losing her temper. He was worried because Othmar looked to be foaming at the mouth in rage.

"Thank you, Queen Ophelia," said Lord Prospekt. "King Othmar, you may tell your side of the story now."

King Othmar stood up and glared right at Jules' mother. "I didn't kill Margie. And my son didn't kill Wynda. We both were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Ophelia, you wouldn't listen where your father did and then you had my son killed. Part of me understands why you did what you did. But Aric was my son. And I can't stand that you got away with it. I had hoped that the curse would take you out, but no, it didn't. There's nothing anyone can say or do that will change my mind. The Heart Kingdom must go."

Jules pursed his lips. His mind went into overdrive. King Othmar insisted that he and his son had not committed the murders of Margaret and Wynda. He seemed to be a man that would admit to victories or wouldn't care who knew how many people he killed in his lifetime. Mom must have thought the same thing. His mother was a monarch who listened, she was a mom who listened.

His mother was protecting someone.

A Queen shouldn't lay blame at her own feet. Nor should a King.

Jules tensed in his chair as Othmar sat down and the Wizard King stood up. He barely heard the words that Fuegoleon was saying. Who would his mother protect to the point of damaging her own reputation as a good and just Queen?

The answer was obvious. He had been observing long enough to know. Mom was protecting Cousin Marilla, Jules thought to himself. It had to be it. Would have Cousin Marilla taken action without telling his mother against Prince Aric? Marilla had been the one to discover the scene of her sister's murder with the supposed murder running away from the scene of the crime. Marilla was a royal and a high-ranking spy. She had the means to convince the nameless Flower Curse assassin to take on the task of killing Prince Aric.

His mother must have had found out before anyone else what Marilla did, or maybe Marilla told his mother what she did. If it came out that Marilla had been the one to cause the issues between the Heart and Spade Kingdom to increase, the calls for Marilla to be sent to face justice in Spade would be swift. And while Marilla did spend time spying in the Spade Kingdom pits (probably a punishment for going behind Jules' mother's back), she was still family.

Family protected family.

Jules knew that things were just going to get worse from here.

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Manor**  
**37th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

With Langris sleeping peacefully as he tried to regain his magic for the return trip home, Mimosa was sitting right next to her mother, as close as she could without seeming like she was trying cuddle her mother. They were on a mission and Mimosa was eighteen, and the unofficially Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn.

Things were tense here in this Manor. The Heart and Spade Kingdoms' soldiers had been glaring at each other. Nobody talked during meals. The Diamond Kingdom people were complained amongst themselves about why they had to get dragged into others kingdoms' messes.

"How do you think the Summit is going, Mother," asked Mimosa.

"Hmm, I expect a lot of arguing and a lot of bruised egos of monarchs," said Nickole, simply. "What do you think, Edward?"

Edward, really 16-year-old Julius Novachrono, sighed. "You're probably right. I can't put my finger on it but I think there's something else going on under the conflict between the Heart and Spade Kingdoms."

"Hmm," said Mimosa's mother. Mimosa knew that hum. It was the judgmental hum that Nickole knew something that no one else did. Generally, it was directed at Kirsch, but it was interesting to see Nickole and "Edward" interact. She almost forgot that her mother was Julius' senior.

"What's that supposed to mean, Lady Nickole," asked Julius, in an even-tone.

"How close were you and Queen Ophelia," whispered Nickole. "Does she trust you with everything? Do you trust her with everything?"

Julius didn't respond.

Mimosa suddenly felt very uncomfortable. She got up and said, "I'm gonna check on Langris again."

"Okay, dear," said Nickole.

Mimosa hurried over to Langris' side.

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Castle**  
**37th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"Let's get something to eat while the adults talk, Prince Con," said Noelle, taking the Crown Prince by his hand and leading him away from the deep conversation of Fuego, Mereo and Queen Ophelia. It was finally a break time. Since the two sides presented their cases and the other two kingdoms commented, it was the long process of finding a solution. It was tedious.

"Th-thank you, Lady Noelle," said Prince Con, stuttering over his words. The Clover King was basically useless and any time he opened his month, he embarrassed the Clover Kingdom and Prince Con needed some space. (Rill was trying not to cry as he got stuck with babysitting the overgrown man-child that was their king.)

Noelle smiled gently at him when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Prince Jules of the Heart Kingdom, attempt to sneak off on his own. With his mother preoccupied and Captain Stowe watching Marilla, Noelle thought it best to keep an eye on the Heart Prince too. Quickly, she dragged Prince Con to catch up with Prince Jules. She used her free hand (the one not holding onto Prince Con's hand) to grab Prince Jules by the back of his shirt.

"Oh, no, you are not going off on your own, young man," said Noelle, sternly. "You'll be coming with me and Prince Con to get some food."

Prince Jules startled. "Uh, what?"

"I am Lady Noelle Silva of the Black Bulls, by the way," said Noelle, realizing he might not know who she was because the guards that came with the monarchs were not introduced. "Prince Con is my charge for the duration of the Summit. It's best not to go somewhere by yourself, Prince Julian."

"Oh, uh, okay," said Prince Jules, awkwardly. "Hey, Con." Noelle, satisfied that Prince Jules was not going to run off, let him go.

"H-hi, Jules," said Prince Con.

"Oh right! I forgot you two were cousins," said Noelle. As they walked to the dining area where the Young Lady Prospekt always had food waiting for the guests, Noelle thought that Con and Jules reminded her of Mimosa and herself from the start of the Magic Knight career. Con was a nervous mess, similar to Mimosa, and Jules was awkward and unable to know how to interact with others, just like Noelle had been. The two boys were cute. "It's good to have a cousin that you can count on."

"L-like you and Lady Mimosa," asked Prince Con.

"Absolutely," said Noelle. "Mimosa is my favorite cousin, after all. I can count on her for anything."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Common Realm**  
**37th Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"Ow, ow, ow, this is cruel and unusual punishment," complained the man.

"Shut up, no one asked you," said Zora, tightening the magical binds on the Spade spy's wrists. He and Mariella swooped in on a meeting between the Spade Kingdom spies, conveniently having them all in one spot. Between both himself and Mariella (who was scary and efficient and he definitely needed to work with her again), it was over in ten minutes.

"That's all seven of them," said Mariella, tonelessly. "It was strange to go into a battle with someone who didn't accidentally lose all his clothes or scream."

Zora snorted. "Honestly, I scream and gloat a lot more than you think."

"Hmmm, I would imagine so, as you are Asta's friend," said Mariella. "Now, what's next?"

Zora grumbled. "We have to get in touch with communications and they will send the closest Captain or Vice-Captain." Zora took out the special magical communication device that Yami got for him, since Zora was off on his own more often than not. Usually only Captains or Vice-Captains had it. He used his mana to activate it. "Hey, this is Zora Ideale of the Black Bulls, location Common Realm, twenty minutes outside of Bantam Town. I have prisoners for pick up."

Mariella watched interested in the process.

Marx's voice came out of the device. _"Noted. We will send someone to help. Make sure you fill out the proper paperwork this time, Zora. I don't want to have sort through your chicken scratch notes."_

Sneering, Zora turned off the device before Marx was able to continue to scold him. Proper paperwork was useless with his check boxes and reference materials. Zora always wrote down what happened and got evidence. It was usually enough. "Well, you should get back to your family, Mariella. I got these losers."

"If you are sure. I do worry about them when I'm not there"

"I know the feeling," said Zora, referring to his own dumbass family of Black Bulls. "See ya around, assassin girl. I'll tell Asta you guys are doing alright."

"Thank you."

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Castle**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

This was the third torturous day of this Summit and it was more arguing than even a Magic Parliament session. Fuegoleon just wanted to get to some conclusion and not be thrown into a middle of a war. All the ideas, from treaties to amendments to previous arrangements and so forth, were rejected for one reason or another.

Fuegoleon's recent proposal of doing actual trials of the murders in an unbiased court like the Diamond judicial or the Clover judicial was rejected vehemently.

"We're getting nowhere with the usual means of peace," said Princess Klotilde of the Diamond Kingdom. "Ophie and Othmar won't accept it!" She was standing up. "So let's do this the only way, the old way. One-on-one Battle to the Death between the Heart Queen and the Spade King, loser's heir calls off the war declaration."

"That's not happening," snapped Prince Jules, the sixteen year old Prince, the namesake of Julius Novachrono. Fuegoleon was wondering when the boy was going to snap. "Fight to the death? That's some nonsense."

"Agreed, that's not a good idea," said Fuegoleon, interjecting. "It'd make things worse than they are. Revenge is a nasty circle of hate that is difficult to break."

Everyone fell silent. This was getting tiresome.

"How about a Battle of Champions?"

The people in the room looked at the quiet, shy Prince Con of Clover. Fuegoleon didn't think the young Prince would even speak a word in this Summit. Interjecting to support the future King of Clover, Fuegoleon said, "That's actually a good idea, Prince Con. Instead of death matches, I mean. The Heart Queen and the Spade King can pick each of their best warriors and go best out of 3, non-fatal."

"I don't know," said Princess Klotilde, "I think death matches would be better."

"Uh, no death matches," argued Prince Jules.

And the arguing erupted about whether or not it was a good idea or what kind of rules there will be for non-fatal matches.

Fuegoleon sighed. Give him the Magic Parliament any day over dealing with other monarchs.

**Neutral Territory**  
**Outside the Poppy Estate**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Julius was not pleased at the moment. It was nearly noon when everyone housed at the Poppy Manor was summoned by Lady Prospekt and informed them of the conclusion of the Summit. Certainly, Julius was grateful that it wasn't death matches, but still a Battle of Champions was not what he envisioned to happen to stop the war. Julius wouldn't have been so bothered if he didn't learn that his godson was fighting against the Spade Princess.

As there were no fighting on Poppy Estate grounds, everyone was moved outside the borders of the estate and the protection of the peace-treaty of it. Julius stood in cleared field next to Nickole, Mimosa, Langris and Klaus. He watched Ophie wring her hands together, worriedly, from across the field, as each Kingdom were separated by their home kingdom.

"So, this isn't what I expected to happen," said Sal to her husband.

"Me either, but it's a valid way to get out the aggression. At least this matter will be settle. There's no guarantee that this will stop any future issues causing a war," said Fuegoleon to his wife. "Honestly, this was Prince Con's idea. And the only one everyone was able to agree on, so I count it as a win."

"May I ask why Prince Jules is one of the Heart Kingdom's champions," asked Julius.

Fuegoleon grimaced. "It was agreed that the three matches' participants had to be relatively at an even mana level and fighting skill level. Of course, Queen Ophelia would pick Miss Marilla and Captain Stowe, who were easy enough to match with two of the Spade Generals. The problem was that King Othmar insisted that his daughter be the third Champion."

"And Prince Jules was the closest to her level unlike the rest of the Heart retinue," finished Julius, sighing. "And I suppose Prince Jules was pleased to get a chance to fight."

"Considering that Prince Jules and Princess Eleanor have been at each other's throats for the last three days, yes," said Fuegoleon, shaking his head. "I hope that this goes in the favor of the Heart."

Julius wished the same. He didn't think that Ophie's ego would be able to take the hit and back down from the war declaration. She had a hard enough time being the ruling Queen of Heart and having a host of doubters.

Setting his attention to the first match between Captain Oira Stowe of Heart and General Maxwell Wolfgang Spade. Julius was excited to see the different magics, despite the dire consequences.

Captain Oira Stowe was a formidable opponent, with her earth magic affinity. Her commanding presence made her an excellent leader, having been one of the top officers in the Heart Kingdom's Special Forces. She had retired for reasons that Julius was unable to get out of Ophie. Had the Captain and Ophie had a falling out? He didn't know for certain.

General Maxwell Wolfgang Spade was the oldest cousin of King Othmar. Maxwell was a career military man, loyal to a fault to the Spade Kingdom way of life. His fire magic capabilities matched those of House Vermillion.

Generally, in match-up between someone with fire and someone with earth, the earth magic user would win because "earth" can smother the oxygen out of fire magic. But this was not a simple match-up between average mana users, this was a match between two fierce wizards.

"Humph, looks like I'm right to keep an eye on her while she's living in Clover," mumbled Sal to herself, and low enough that only Fuegoleon and Julius heard her.

The battle between the Captain and the General was fierce. Each had mastery over their magic that was truly impressive. However, Julius watched the two combatants fight, General Maxwell's magic control was far superior to Oira's.

"When can you tell the match ends," asked Julius.

"The first to quit verbally," said Fuegoleon.

The back and forth took its toll on Oira, who was technically retired, and everyone with battle experience was able to see it. So it was no wonder that Oira said after getting knocked down, she said, "I yield!"

The first match went to Spade.

Julius frowned as Oira went over to Ophie. The Captain seemed to be apologizing to Ophie, as one of the Heart Kingdom's healers looked over Oira's injuries.

"Marilla was the one that helped out Nozel and Vanessa," said Fuegoleon. "She can fight without magic as well as with magic."

"She's Ophie's cousin," said Julius. "It's a pity that Luck isn't here. She's got a lightning affinity. He could learn something from her."

"Or he'd just want to fight her," mumbled Mimosa and Klaus at the same time.

Julius hid a smile.

Marilla Nova Heart was set to face General Peck Wolfgang Spade, the age-mate cousin of King Othmar.

"He's got that burning ice affinity," commented Mereoleona. "An unusual affinity."

Julius heard of him as well. Burning ice was a bit of a misnomer. General Peck's affinity was actually Methane Clathrate affinity, but burning ice was easier to remember. He was a very dangerous man, having grown up alongside King Othmar, who was known for his viciousness.

Marilla was in her thirties, in her prime, while General Peck had the experience and expertise in battle.

Once the battle started, Julius' jaw dropped. Unlike the relatively back and forth of the previous match, Marilla went past her limits immediately. She electrified the entire field, not even bothering avoiding the spectators. Her speed was blindingly fast, as she flitted around the battlefield. To the credit of General Peck, he was not confusingly watching her, he was standing still, biding his time.

Julius hopped up and down, excited.

"This is so cool," said Julius.

"She's gonna win," said Mereoleona, arms crossed. "You can feel her fury."

Mereoleona was right because after a few high-powered shocks, General Peck yelled, "I yield. My heart can't take the shocks!"

It was one-to-one and the next match was going to be the deciding factor. Julius hoped that Prince Jules was ready.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Zora entered the Black Bulls headquarters, only to be greeted by Charmy, Vanessa, and Luck, loudly. Too loudly for him, as he needed sleep and not yelling.

"Welcome home, Zora," cheered Vanessa.

"Yeah, I'm back," replied Zora.

"Do you wanna fight, Zora?"

"No, Luck, I don't," he told the crazy lightning boy.

"You got a package! And we didn't open it this time," said Charmy, bounding up to him, and handing him a box. "It looks like it came from the Coral Peacocks!"

Zora rolled his eyes, as he opened it to see what was inside. There was a note on top. It was from Kirsch. "Thanks for respecting my privacy, Charmy."

"_For your travels, make sure you eat, or I'll tell my mother – Kirsch_

He couldn't help it. He laughed. Kirsch was a goddamn weirdo. Under the note, there was homemade beef jerky. Zora put the lid back on and headed toward the stairs to get to his room. "Night, losers."

"Don't sleep too long," said Charmy. "Ma Shula is making a big feast. She's got to head out tonight to get back to Rayaka."

Zora nodded. "Won't miss it."

He found himself still chuckling as he got to his room.

**Neutral Territory**  
**Outside the Poppy Estate**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Ophie hated herself for letting things get this far.

And now, her son might get hurt due to her failings as a Queen, as a cousin and a mother.

She clasped her hands tightly together in front of her. Jules was her whole world and if something happened to him because she protected Marilla too much, Ophie would never forgive herself. Oira and Marilla stood by her side, as Jules went to the field where Princess Eleanor waited.

"He'll be fine, Your Majesty," said Captain Stowe. "He's been trained by the best wizards in Heart Kingdom. He's a bright, gifted kid."

"Except," said Marilla, ever-the-pessimist, interjecting, "Princess Eleanor inherited her father's dual magic affinity—metal and fire. Young Jules will have his work cut out for him."

Ophie bit her lip. Princess Eleanor had not just one powerful elemental magic affinity, but two. If she was trained by her father, it would be a tough match. Jules' magic affinity seemed strange at first glance, as it was Mist. It seemed far too weak to be a royal's magic affinity. It was clearly derived from Ophie's own all-encompassing Weather magic and his father's weaker Light magic.

She really should pay more attention to Jules' training. She hoped that her wizards managed to train him to battle against someone with a more powerful affinity.

Right now, she needed to believe in her son.

"He's my son," said Ophie, whispered to herself. "He'll win." She caught Julius staring at her from across the field. He looked equally as worried, but nodded at her. He believed in Jules too.

The match began with Princess Eleanor on the offensive, generating circle of blue flames around herself and Jules. She charged at him, summoned two swords. To Jules' credit, he didn't look worried, but more amused than anything as he dodged easily. Ophie chided him in her mind to not get too arrogant.

With his own grimoire out, Jules doused the flames and both himself and Princess Eleanor with his mists, one of the first spells he learned.

"You're weak," laughed Princess Eleanor.

Jules didn't deign to respond, but merely smirked at her. This proved to anger the Spade Princess. It was times like these that Jules honestly reminded Ophie of her older brother, long since exiled from the family, who was able to get on anyone's nerves in the middle of a battle.

The pages of Ophie's son's grimoire flipped and suddenly Princess Eleanor diverted her attention to attacking nothing at all. She was yelling fiercely, attempting to chop up the sky. What did Jules do?

"That is one of his Mirage techniques," softly said by Captain Reeves, the squad captain in charge of Jules' training. "You needn't worry. Jules has your intelligence and your brother's battle sense and your father's penchant for psychological warfare. And he has a strong desire to protect."

Ophie smiled, as Jules shook his head and took out his own short sword from his belt without unsheathing and whacked the Spade Princess on the neck, causing her to collapse from shock.

"Looks like she's out cold. I win," announced Jules. "The Heart Kingdom wins."

Ophie rushed over and hugged him, probably embarrassing him. "Oh! That was a wonderful victory, Jules!"

"Yes," said Lady Prospekt, appearing. "King Othmar, I believe you have a war declaration to rescind now."

King Othmar looked furious, but said, "It is what we all agreed. I still don't forgive you, Ophelia and I don't expect you to forgive me. But I, as the ruling monarch of the Spade Kingdom, rescind the war declaration against the Heart Kingdom. Expect the official paper within one day of my return to the Spade capital."

Ophie nodded. "Understood. Therefore, as you rescinded the war declaration, the Heart Kingdom will too back down."

Things were still tense, but this matter was resolved.

"Excellent, excellent," said Lady Prospekt, nodding. "I'll finalize the paperwork for the Summit and we can put this matter to rest."

Then, Princess Eleanor woke up after being healed by one of the Spade Kingdom healers. She wasn't hurt too badly, but she was furious.

"How could I lose to a weakling like him!?"

"Let it go," said King Othmar, sternly. "What is done is done. Prince Julian of Heart bested you this time. It only means that you need to train harder."

Ophie winced, remembering the same words her own father said to her time and time again when she was still trying to control her weather magic. Her sympathy for Princess Eleanor evaporated when her grimoire went active and Ophie sensed a familiar energy.

"Everyone get back," barked Mereoleona Vermillion. People of all four kingdoms moved away from Princess Eleanor as the black energy familiar to certain individuals, especially the Clover Kingdom.

Soon, it was apparent.

Princess Eleanor had been possessed by a demon and the demon energy encased the area and the possessed Princess' sights was on Ophie's son. Ophie pushed Jules behind her, and Captain Stowe and Captain Reeves grabbed Jules, as the fight began.

"Shit, we need Asta," shouted Noelle Silva. "Langris, go get him!"

"I still don't have enough energy," shouted back Langris Vaude. "Who else is a damn spatial magic user here?!"

"I am," said Lady Prospekt, loudly. "I cannot focus it as much as you, but together, we can retrieve this man named Asta!"

"WE ARE HOLDING THE DEMON HERE UNTIL ASTA ARRIVES," yelled Mereoleona.

"The demon cannot go any further. DIAMOND SOLDIERS TO ME," shouted the Diamond Princess, Klotilde. "Mars, protect my father!"

"Rill, Sal, Nickole, protect our King and Prince," ordered Fuegoleon.

"I knew this was going to happen," muttered King Othmar. "SPADE SOLDIERS, BACK ME UP."

Ophie heard the others, but she was focused on one thing and one thing only—protecting her only child until Asta, the anti-magic boy, arrived.

_Ch. End_

* * *

Thank you so much for reading! Of course I would like to hear if you enjoyed the chapter.


	9. Chapter 9

SPOILERS!

HOLY SHIT! The manga is amazing post-time skip, setting up the second arc nicely. LEO MY BOY! ASTA MY BOY! MY GIRLS MIMOSA AND NOELLE! GAH! Anyway, so clearly I was way off also with the Spade Kingdom...oops.

So, just reminding everyone that this is canon divergent, post-chapter 215. I got more stuff to say but it'll be at the end.

SO ENJOY!

* * *

**Neutral Territory**  
**Outside the Poppy Estate**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Noelle really hoped that Langris and Lady Prospekt would hurry up. When the Spade Princess had been possessed, she infected the nearby Spade soldiers with some demon energy and currently they were mindlessly attacking. Since there were so many leaders on the field barking orders, there was a bit of a confusion. But Noelle's job was to capture the mind-controlled Spade soldiers. She was in her Valkyrie Armor Stage 2, doing her best to knock the men unconscious.

While Fuegoleon, Captain Mereoleona, Captain Charlotte, Princess Klotilde, Queen Ophelia, King Othmar, and "Edward" held back the demon-possessed Princess Eleanor, the rest of the Prospekt family arrived to build barriers around the battlefield just in case.

"Mimosa, I've got two more for you," shouted Noelle, dropping off two more soldiers to her cousin, who set up a healing station. Mimosa corralled the other healers from the other Kingdoms to help her. What Noelle wouldn't do to have Charmy here with her mana-restoring food!

"Right," said Mimosa, activating another healing pod.

With no time to waste, Noelle rushed back out to the battlefield, as several Diamond soldiers got possessed by the demon energy.

"Damnit," muttered Noelle, under her breath. "Come on, Asta, hurry up."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

The mood was a bit down in the Black Bulls' house. Last night, they had to see Ma Shula off back to Rayaka. She had her work as a blacksmith and commissions to be done. Everyone promised to come and visit her when they were nearby Rayaka. Charmy was already lamenting about missing Ma Shula's cooking. Captain Yami wasn't there, so somehow, Finral was in charge of the Black Bulls that were there.

Did Finral know where Captain Yami went? Finral's best guess was that Captain Yami went gambling and lost track of time. With Noelle away and Asta still holed up in his room (though Asta did come to see Ma Shula off, because Asta was a polite young man), Finral had gotten a list of missions sent to their base by Marx to be done. Grey, Gordon and Gauche were on a mission already.

Of course, Lady Finesse and their two honorary uncles Locke and Styles would stay to keep Henry some company and Finral wasn't sure what to do with Ember the Dragon, who didn't seem to take orders from anyone other than Noelle or Mimosa.

"I'll take any long missions," said Zora, in-between bites of his waffles that Charmy made for everyone. "Stop staring at the work, Finral, and get it done."

"Yes, Vice-Captain," snickered Magna. "Get the work done. What would Mister Yami say?"

"Yeah, yeah," badgered Luck.

Finral rolled his eyes. "Let's finish eating before we worry about missions."

Suddenly, a spatial portal opened and in dropped a strange women, carrying Finral's little brother. Langris was paler than normal and he was out cold.

Immediately, everyone went on the defensive, except Zora, who yelled, "Wait, you fuckin' idiots, that's Lady Prospekt, she's alright."

"Ah, Zora Ideale, I see you found your place in the world," said the woman referred to as Lady Prospekt. "But there is no time. I need the young man named Asta. We have a situation. There's a demon that appeared at the Summit. And…"

Finral thanked Zora's quick actions, as Zora, with unrepentant glee, used his stink bugs to wake up Asta. Asta came barreling down the stairs, with all three swords.

"Langris is in no shape to take the trip back," said Finral. "Charmy, stay here, and feed my brother, alright?"

"Right-o, Finral," said Charmy, as Locke and Styles picked up Langris and brought him to the couch.

"Everyone else, let's get going," said Finral, nodding. "Captain Yami is going to be angry he's missed out on this!"

"I can focus you to the point where we need to be," said Lady Prospekt.

Finral nodded. "Lady Finesse, Charmy, Uncles, and Henry, take care of things here and if Captain Yami comes back, let him know what happened." Lady Prospekt placed her hand on Finral's shoulder and immediately he felt the boost in his energy. Using his magic, he opened a portal, and the remaining Black Bulls rushed the portal, ready to aid their friends.

Finral and the Lady were the last ones through, and he heard Finesse yell, "Be safe!"

It brought a smile to his face.

He hoped Noelle, Mimosa, Secre and the others were alright.

**Neutral Territory**  
**Outside of the Poppy Estate**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Nickole knew she was going to be called to the battlefield as the miasma from the possessed girl grew stronger with every passing second. Langris needed to get back with Asta as soon as possible. The demon was getting stronger and while Nickole knew the best way to defeat the enemy would be to kill the host, it would just cause more problems as the Spade Princess' life must be saved.

Going into the battlefield to fight alongside Noelle was an experience, it was almost like having Acier back. Noelle looked so much like Nickole's beloved sister. Noelle had that same passion and fierceness.

Nickole wore actual armor as her regular battle gear, so when her own Valkyrie armor was active, she was double shielded, but the downside was that it made her more noticeable and a target. In this case, it was not a bad thing, since the mindlessly possessed plebes from the other Kingdoms went for Nickole.

"Send them to Mimosa," ordered Nickole, eyes not taken off the battlefield, as she handed another unconscious soldier to Lord Prospekt. "Noelle! Your six!"

"Thanks, Auntie," said Noelle, turning quickly in the sky and knocking another possessed soldier to the ground. "Best take him too."

Nickole scowled. "Noelle, go to Mimosa too. Get a healing, quickly."

"I'm fine," argued Noelle. There was that Black Bull stubbornness, Silva Royal pride, and the Steele family inability to give up shining in Noelle's eyes. But Nickole saw that Noelle had been using her mana constantly for that last hour and the strain was evident.

"Now," barked Nickole, harsher than intended. There was no way that Noelle or Mimosa were getting her on her watch. Softer, but loud enough to be heard over the clashes of magic and the roars of the demon, she pleaded, "Please."

Noelle nodded and flew over to Mimosa to rest for a spare moment.

"This could be going better, eh, Auntie," roared Mereoleona, as she had just gotten pushed back towards Nickole's position.

"Well, no shit," retorted Nickole. "Switch positions, so you can gather yourself?"

"Please, I don't need an old lady to spare me time to rest," grinned Mereoleona.

Leveling Mereoleona with a stare, Nickole used her magic to propel her to join the group of monarchs holding back the demon. Just because Mereoleona and Fuegoleon had far more battlefield experience and were older, it didn't mean that Nickole worried any less about them than her children or Acier's children.

Mereoleona cursed at her, while Nickole assessed the situation with the demon up closer.

"The demon works on rage and pride," muttered Nickole to herself, as she grabbed the back of Julius/Edward's shirt to throw him next to his godson, who was arguing fiercely with the Queen of Hearts. "Fuego, we have to calm the Princess down, it might stall until Asta arrives!" Fuego, the Diamond Princess, and King Othmar were attempting to block the attacks, while the Queen of Hearts physically and magically shielded her son. Captain Charlotte was busy fended off any of the mindless victims attacking them.

"How?"

"Othmar, what calms your daughter down," demanded Nickole.

"Unless we have chocolate, we are fucked," grunted the Spade King.

Too bad Charmy wasn't there, that girl always had chocolate.

"Fine! I can get close enough to knock her out but that won't stop the demon necessarily," said Nickole.

"Hey, can you make a big box with that nickel magic," asked the Diamond Princess.

Nickole smirked. "I can. Captain Charlotte, back me up!"

"Yes, Lady Nickole!"

**Neutral Territory**  
**Outside of the Poppy Estate**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Mom, I'm fine! I can help," argued Jules.

"It's my duty as your mother to protect you. It's not your job to protect _me_," retorted Ophie to her belligerent son.

"Can you two stop arguing and focus," demanded Julius. Ophie hated that she had to refer to him as Edward when they spoke to each other, but it was what it was. "That box that Nickole made is only to going to hold for so long."

When Mereoleona had gotten basically punted away, Ophie worried because she was the strongest one there and hoped that the woman hadn't been hurt. But Lady Nickole Vermillion arrived in place. Ophie knew the woman from reputation only and from Julius' perspective. The royal woman was holding the possessed Princess in a box of nickel and being supportive by Charlotte Roselei's own magic, rose vines helping keep the box shut.

"I think I need a vacation after this is all over," mumbled Ophie to herself. Between almost dying, the threat of war, her son fighting, and this, Ophie really wanted to go home and sleep.

"Oh thank the Heavens!"

Ophie's eyes looked up, at Julius' proclamation. It drew a long sigh of relief from her.

A portal had opened above them and reinforcements arrived in the form of some of the Black Bulls squad, but what was more important that he saw a black figure fly towards them. She remembered Asta from her time in the infirmary when the anti-magic boy came to visit the wind wizard Yuno. Asta immediately had his swords and talking with Fuego, Nickole, and Charlotte about the situation. There was a lot of yelling.

And then she saw a sight, Ophie never thought she would see. A fully grown, clearly ancient dragon flying above the battlefield, near the medical area were Lady Mimosa kept everyone intact.

"When did you get a damn dragon," demanded Ophie, offended that Julius didn't tell her.

Julius shrugged, grinning. "I dunno. I clearly missed some things. Oh Hello, Miss Vanessa!"

"Hey, Edward," said the voice of the witch that had been on Ophie's protection detail, "And Your Highnesses. Don't you worry, just stick by me, young Prince Jules, and I'll protect you, no problem."

"Ah, Noelle told you that Jules was the target," said Julius, sighing in relief.

"Rouge will divert any attacks," said Vanessa, nodding.

Ophie knew that Vanessa's abilities were amazing, so she shoved Jules into the witch's arms. "Don't let him go. Let's go, Edward, and see what Asta needs."

"Mom! I can help!"

"Nah, nah, little Prince, your momma said stay put," said Vanessa, ruffling the hair of Jules but having him securely held back.

Ophie smiled as she and Julius found Asta still yelling.

It seemed he was arguing with someone, someone that wasn't there.

**Neutral Territory**  
**Outside of the Poppy Estate**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Asta's anti-magic demon was being a rightful pain in the ass. Nelchael had immediately starting screaming in Asta's head as soon as Asta flew through the portal. Something about not wanting to meet the demon there.

"Shut up! We have work to do, Nel! Stop bitchin'," roared Asta, out loud, and angrily. He got some concerned looks from Fuegoleon, Julius, Queen Ophie, and the others there. "Sorry, the anti-magic demon is bein' difficult. Something about not wanting to meet this demon."

"Maybe it's because the demon is activated by pure rage and pride, like the Steele girl said," said an old guy that Asta didn't recognize.

"Hey! Let's just put it all out there, since me and Char can't hold her for much longer," yelled Lady Nickole. She and Captain Charlotte were using their combined magic to contain the demon-possessed Princess. "And King Othmar, I'm a Vermillion, not a Steele anymore."

The old man made a rude gesture at Kirsch and Mimosa's mother.

A woman, who Asta also didn't know, sternly looked at the old man. "Yes, King Othmar, tell us, what you know about this demon who took over your daughter?"

"It's the Wolfgang Spade Royal Family curse," said King Othmar, apparently the old man was the King of the Spade Kingdom. "My grandfather ran into this demon possessed grimoire and the demon in it cursed the main line of my family—if we gave into our rage and pride, we'd risk releasing the demon to the world. Myself, and my son Aric almost let the demon out, but Margie stopped me and Wynda stopped Aric."

"_**That's because in order to stop this particular demon's curse, an act of true love is required. Asta and I can stop the possession but it won't break the curse on the girl. I don't want to tangle with this bitch, Asta, please."**_

"What?" Queen Ophie exclaimed.

Asta shoved the demon back down.

Suddenly, the nickel box and the vines contained the Princess burst, debris and shrapnel flying all around in a big gust of dark mana. The Spade Princess was nearly fully possessed, more demon than girl at this point. Asta winced.

"_**Did I hear your voice, Nelchael? I've missed you, darling! Come here, so I can RIP YOUR FUCKING FACE OFF, YOU ASSHOLE! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME?!"**_

Nearly everyone was blown back from the amount of power behind the words.

Asta cringed. What did his demon do this other demon?

"_**I'm not your darling, stalker! WE WERE NEVER TOGETHER. I HAVE A MATE! AND IT SURE AS FUCK AIN'T YOU."**_

"This is so weird," commented Julius.

Asta had to agree it was weird, as the demon was using Asta's mouth, while Asta was in his black form, to argue with the other demon. Asta didn't know that Nel had a "mate." It was nice to know what Nel wasn't just being annoying not wanting to help, but actually didn't want to run into his stalker.

"_**I WAS BETTER FOR YOU!"**_

"_**Let it go."**_

While the two demons bickered back and forth, Asta overheard the others speaking about plans. At least, they were taking things seriously.

"Question, does the act of love have to be romantic in nature," asked Ophie. "Because then, it will be up to King Othmar. Do you think you can summon enough paternal love?"

"Hilarious, Ophelia," said King Othmar. "What do you have in mind?"

"Hug your daughter and tell her you love her," said Ophie, arms crossed. "It's all any child wants from their parent, especially when they are cold and calculating most of the time."

Taking his mouth back over, Asta said, "Let's go, King Othmar, I can get you close."

There was no hesitation as Asta grabbed the old King by his arm and flew towards the man's daughter and threw him at her. Mid-air, Asta used his Demon-Slayer Sword to cut through the demon's mana in order to let the King latch onto the floating form of his daughter. Asta grinned, as the old king hugged his daughter.

"Nora, sweetie, I love you. I can't lose you too."

Summoning the Demon-Destroyer Sword, Asta knew that it was near the moment to get the rage demon. He watched the Princess as the mana of the demon began to recede, and the eyes went back to normal. Asta reached the father and daughter.

He used the sword to lightly tap her on the head.

And the demon was gone.

"_**Her personal curse is gone, but I don't know if the family's curse is gone."**_

"Well, it's better than nothing."

Asta helped the Spade royals to the ground, where things significantly calmed down. He was glad it worked out and that no one got seriously hurt.

"Good work," said Julius, smiling.

"Thanks, uh, Edward."

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Manor**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

It took some effort but everyone got to Poppy Manor in a timely fashion. Jules was hunkered down in the corner with his cousin. He and Con were unharmed in the battle, so they were left alone while the healers scrambled to help those injured. The monarchs were huddled together, working out a way to detail this incident, if at all.

Othmar and his mother weren't at each other's throats, though things were tense. He heard the implications during the battle while Othmar explained himself. If an act of love was needed to stop the curse from overtaking Othmar and Aric in the incidents, it meant things were a mess between the Heart and Spade Kingdoms. It meant that Othmar and Aunt Margie were in love. It meant that Aric and Cousin Wynda were in love.

It was why Othmar insisted he didn't kill Margie. Because technically he didn't.

It was why Othmar insisted that Aric didn't kill Wynda. Because he didn't.

Tragedies for everyone, Jules mused to himself, bitterly.

On top of everything else, there were even more Clover Kingdom Magic Knights there and they were just as weird as Uncle Julius. The chaos was getting to Jules.

"You are really strong, Jules," said Con, softly. "You did really well in your fight."

Jules grinned. "Thanks. I'm still working out some things, but I'm getting the hang of my magic."

"I hope that I can get the hang of my magic," Con said. He inherited the normal Kira Clover family light magic affinity.

"You will, especially when you join the Magic Knights. You're joining right, soon? At the next exams?"

Con nodded. "Father wants us to participate in the exams, so we can show up "the common folk.""

"Right," Jules said, sarcastically.

"I don't care about that, I'm just hoping that I won't have to face my sister."

Jules was mildly concerned. "Maybe, I can take a trip to Clover and see the Magic Knight Entrance Exams this time."

"Really," asked Con, brightening up considerably.

If it meant supporting his cousin, Jules would just have to deal with Uncle Julius' weirdness. "Yeah, of course, Con."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The Wizard King's Office**  
**38th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"And then, we should send a squad to this town and check out that mayor," said Nozel, pointing to a town on the map in the Common Realm. He and Kaiser were reviewing things around the kingdom so that they could give the Magic Knight squads more missions. "Why the hell hasn't that buffoon gotten back to us about his squad? He should have given them their assignments by now."

"Yami does what he does," said Kaiser, sighing.

Marx burst into the room, using his magic to communicate with Fuegoleon. "Captain Nozel, Captain Kaiser, Lord Fuegoleon needs to speak with you!"

"_Nozel, Kaiser, we had a situation. The majority of the Black Bulls arrived to help us."_

Fuegoleon moved so that Nozel and Kaiser was able to see the room at the Poppy Manor was packed with people of four kingdoms.

"Is Noelle okay? And Mimosa? And Aunt Nickole?"

"_They are fine. Mimosa overworked herself healing. Noelle is hovering her bedside. Aunt Nickole saved the day, pissed off Mereo while doing so. Anyway, the Spade Princess had been possessed by a demon, so we had Langris and Lady Prospekt of the Poppy Estate retrieve Asta. Langris should be at the Black Bulls hideout, as Finral took his place, but now Finral is over-exhausted. Can you send some spatial wizards to get us for tomorrow morning?"_

"Of course," said Kaiser. "We'll call the strongest ones, other than Langris and Finral. So you never said, did things work out this time?"

"_The Heart and Spade are no longer in war. Thankfully. And we found out a few things. The demons are becoming a problem. I think we need Asta to get as much information as he can out of the anti-magic demon."_

"We already tried that after the war against the Elves," said Nozel. "The demon, no matter how friendly to Asta, is not forthcoming with a lot of information. But I suppose it won't hurt to needle them some more."

"Oi, what the hell do you keep calling me for," snapped another voice. Yami entered the room. "What's this?"

"_Ah, Yami, I was wondering why you weren't with your team when they showed up."_

"Did those dumbasses really go off to do some fighting without me?"

"Yes," chorused Nozel, refraining from rolling his eyes.

"Good for them, getting off their lazy butts. So, what's happening?"

**Neutral Territory**  
**Poppy Estate- Poppy Manor**  
**39th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Are you sure that you don't want to come back with us," asked Fuegoleon, softly to Julius.

"Yeah, me and Ophie have a few things to talk about," replied Julius, shaking Fuegoleon's hand. "I wanna convince Ophie to let Jules come and visit us in time for the Magic Knight exams."

"Ah, you overheard the boys talking too," said Fuegoleon. "Well, we shall welcome Prince Jules with open arms if he does come to visit."

Julius grinned. "Get back safely. I don't think I'll be too long. Let me know when Yuno gets better."

"You think it'll be soon," asked Fuegoleon.

Julius looked over to Asta. Asta was talking excitedly to Princess Klotilde and Ophie with both women smiling at Asta. Ophie already given Asta something for his help, as well as Miss Vanessa. Princess Klotilde was impressed with Asta and wanted to talk about Fanzell, as she noticed the way that Asta fought with swords reminded her of her old classmate. Mars, the most trusted general and a friend of Asta, was nearby, looking like he wanted to talk to Asta himself, probably about the young man's childhood friend Fana, who lived with Fanzell, his wife, and Mariella. "Asta looks to have come to some sort of decision, it seems."

"I'm glad that the Spade left first," said Nickole, appearing by Fuegoleon. "Things were awkward. It was worse than the tenseness."

"Agreed," replied Fuegoleon. "How's Mimosa and Finral?"

"Still sleeping. Hopefully the spatial magic users arrive in time," said Nickole. "It looks like we'll be the last ones out of here, despite the fact that we were the first ones here."

It was time for the Diamond Kingdom wizards to leave shortly after Asta embarrassed Mars, by saying "I'll tell Fana you said hi". Princess Klotilde respectfully shook Ophie and Augustus' hands before she left. And even the old king woke up from his nap long enough to say goodbye.

"Let's go, Edward," said Ophie, once the Diamond Kingdom wizards were out of sight. "We have a trek back to Heart. I'll send you messages when I get back to the Red Palace, Lord Fuegoleon."

Ophie and Fuegoleon shook hands. "Take care."

"You as well. Jules, let's go!"

"Alright, alright, Mom." Jules rushed over to them, after saying goodbye to his cousin. "Wait, are you coming with us again. Can't you just go home?"

"Don't deny you'll miss me when I'm gone, Prince Jules," said Julius, grinning.

Prince Jules glared at him.

Julius laughed at his godson.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Outside of Magic Knights Headquarters and Clover Castle**  
**39th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Fuegoleon was happy to be home. Once everyone was through the portals, the spatial wizards who had come for them escorted the Clover King, the servants, and Prince Con back inside the Clover Castle. It allowed Fuegoleon and the other Magic Knights to relax for a hot minute before Fuegoleon realized that he needed to call a Captains' meeting to update them. And then he was going to need to talk to the Magic Parliament, because Damnatio snuck off as soon as he was through the portal. Damnatio had been on his best behavior throughout the trip and it scared Fuegoleon because the other royal was surely up to something.

"Mimosa, please, take Finral to the infirmary," said Fuegoleon. "Mereo, Asta, Charlotte, Sal, Rill, Bennett, please come with me. We have to have a meeting. The rest of you either go to the infirmary if you need it or go to the communications room to contact your squads."

"Yes, sir!"

Finral was immediately whisked away to the infirmary by Vanessa, Mimosa and Noelle. Secre turned back into Nero and sat herself on top of Asta's head.

"Clarity, tell Mackenzie and the rest what happened," asked Rill.

"Of course, Captain Rill!" Clarity sprinted inside to find the communication room. She was followed by Klaus, Alecdora and Xerx.

"I think I'll sit in the meeting," said Aunt Nickole, walking with Fuegoleon and the Captains inside, towards the Captains' meeting room.

"Of course," said Fuegoleon.

Once in the meeting room, Fuegoleon found Nozel, Yami, Kaiser, Jack, a sleeping Dorothy, and William (meaning Yuno was still cursed). Kaiser must have called Jack, Dorothy (or really Kirsch), and William already.

"You all look like shit," commented Yami.

"None of that now," said Fuegoleon, sighing tiredly. "We have a lot to go over. This is going to be a long meeting."

"Oh fuck, really?"

"Yes, really, Jack," replied Fuegoleon. Everyone seated themselves and Fuegoleon sat in the front of the table to address everyone. "War has been averted, thankfully."

"Yeah, I was wondering how that happened, Mr. Fuegoleon," said Asta, confused. "The Heart Queen and the Spade King seemed to be getting along by the time I got there."

Fuegoleon hefted a big sigh. "This is why I said it was going to be a long meeting. And then we have to talk about the rage demon."

"Wait, there was a demon?! And you didn't call me, shrimp?!"

"Sorry, Captain Yami, we were in a rush and you weren't home!"

"Enough," said Fuegoleon, snapping. He breathed and tried to remain calm because he was the Wizard King. A Wizard King who really needed a nap, but that was neither here nor there. "Let's start at the beginning."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls Hideout**  
**40th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

"Oh my God, I missed so much while I was on the mission," said Noelle, complaining, while sitting on the couch in the common area of the Black Bulls' base. Much to Asta's embarrassment, everyone (except Captain Yami, who was on the toilet again) were hanging around to catch up with each other. Gordon, Gauche, and Grey arrived safely home from their mission just last night. And Noelle was surprised to find out that Asta had, in fact, finally confessed to Yuno while she was gone.

Asta sat there, red-faced as their rowdy squad discussed his love life. Noelle almost felt sorry for him. "Come on, guys, it's not as dramatic as you are making it out to be."

"I beg to differ, brat," said Zora, highly amused. "You've been moping for more than a month."

"So, Ma Shula and the anti-magic demon both think that Asta must court Yuno properly so show earnestness in his feelings," Noelle asked. "Wait until I tell Mimosa, she's going to have a conniption at how stupid Yuno's being right now."

"He's just in his own mind too much," said Asta, defensively. Noelle nodded and supposed that Asta knew why Yuno was being so stubborn. But still, everyone was able to see how much Asta and Yuno loved each other. Was it really that big of a deal? "Yuno got like that sometimes when we were younger. It happened less and less but the curse really brought out his melancholy."

"Okay, so do you know what your plan is to make Yuno believe you," asked Finral, who was still pale and tired from using his spatial powers too much, but he was very much invested Asta's success.

"Did you get him a gift," asked Noelle, remembering her own gift to Kahono, when Noelle asked the singer out on a date.

"I did."

"Okay, good," said Noelle. "Do you have your first date planned?"

Asta shook his head. "I dunno. I mean, I figured we can go training…"

"NO!"

"Take him to a beach resort!"

"That's too soon, Finral. They need a nice picnic date," demanded Vanessa.

"Or maybe they should just do something that they both like to do," countered Zora.

"Like you know anything," retorted Vanessa to Zora.

"No I don't know, but its fucking common sense, ain't it? Dating means to be getting know the person, right? Asta and Yuno have been attached at the hip since they were babies. I don't think they need to date like everyone else," responded Zora. "Asta, brat, honestly, just do training once your dumb as fuck man gets better."

"Aww, Zora, you do care," Magna said, teasing, bringing Zora into a headlock. Luck promptly jumped on Zora's back.

"Softy, softy!"

Asta laughed. "You guys are the best! Thanks for helping me."

Noelle rolled her eyes. "Of course, Dorksta, you'd be lost without us."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Magic Parliament**  
**40th Day of the Curse**  
**Morning**

Nozel stood outside the chambers of the Magic Parliament. They were currently discussing the Summit and then, it would Nozel's time. Nozel, with help from Aldebrand and Tarian, petitioned the Magic Parliament and he would give a speech. Then, they were to deliberate—with the end goal being a unanimous decision. It was honestly a long shot, but if Nozel wanted to become the House Head, it was worth the try.

Messing with the status quo was heavily frowned upon by the royals and nobles. Nozel knew it. He knew that this could be bad and not go in his favor. This was going to be one of the hardest things he had to do.

"Don't look so dour, Nozel. You're going to do great," said a familiar voice.

"Aunt Nickole," asked Nozel, as his aunt stayed at the doorway. Technically, she wasn't inside the Magic Parliament, so she wouldn't get in trouble.

"Whatever happens, I'm proud of you. Your mom would be too," said Nickole. "But I noticed that you didn't tell Noelle, Solid or Nebra you were doing this today."

"I need to keep them out of the crossfire. They're going to be mad at me, but it is better this way," replied Nozel. Noelle just got home from a mission and needed to rest. And Nozel needed Solid and Nebra to help Vivian managed the Silver Eagles while he was busy arguing with the Magic Parliament.

"Well, I have a mission already, so good luck."

"Thank you."

Aunt Nickole left him alone.

"It's time, Nozel."

Fuegoleon came out of the chambers to retrieve him. His best friend clapped him on the shoulder. "Let's do this."

"Yes."

Nozel's fight was about to begin and he was looking forward to winning his House back.

**Protea, King**  
_(meaning) change, transformation, daring, resourcefulness, diversity and courage_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**40th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Mimosa let Asta inside the Golden Dawn headquarters and held his hand as she walked him to Yuno's room. Asta's stomach was in knots. This shouldn't be so hard. He just fought a demon several days ago, so convincing his childhood best friend that Asta was truthfully and irrevocably in love with Yuno should be easy.

"You can do it," said Mimosa, softly, smiling at him, as she opened the door to Yuno's room for Asta.

Asta gave a deep breath and he was not leaving this room until Yuno understood that his feelings were true. Upon entering Yuno's room, the wind sprite Bell made a face and she fled out the window immediately. Asta needed to apologize to the poor dear when things were settled with Yuno. Poor Bell had to be there for all the yelling and snapping at each other. Yuno was still sitting on his bed. He was pale as a ghost, lips stained red from blood, and he stared at Asta incredulously as Asta approached his bed.

Yuno opened his mouth to say something but Asta needed to speak, so Asta said, loudly, "No, you listen. When I'm done, you can talk"

Yuno snapped his mouth shut and gave him a glare, but said nothing.

Breathing in and out, Asta pulled out a small box and handed it to Yuno and spoke, "I know it can't replace the one you lost, but I hope it means just as much to you since it is from me."

Gingerly, Yuno opened the box and found a necklace. Asta was luck that saving lives of monarchs had its rewards. The Queen of the Hearts was so grateful that Asta was able to stop the demon, since the target was her son, that she gave him a precious stone. It didn't have any magic properties, she had told him, not like the magic stones that were lost when the elves attempted their reincarnation, but it was a good luck stone that she had been given by her very best friend. She didn't need it anymore.

Asta knew that Yuno missed his necklace that had been his precious item, which Yuno would clutch in times of extreme stress and to remind himself that there was someone out there that loved him.

Yuno held the necklace, which was not a match for the one lost, but it was a pretty shade of purple and black. Asta thought it looked rather regal.

"Yuno, I love you. Nothing in the world will ever change my feelings for you," said Asta. "I want to be able to love you openly and freely. So, please, just tell me what you're thinking that head of yours? If anything, just give me a chance."

Yuno coughed, some flower and bloods.

Asta reached for Yuno, and grabbed one of the towels at the bedside to clean it up. "Yuno?"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Yuno's Room**  
**40th Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

Yuno hated that everyone was right and he was just blinded by his own insecurities and dark thoughts. _Of course_, Asta loved him. Asta _always_ loved him. There was no mistake that it was the same kind of love that Yuno held for Asta.

"I'm sorry," said Yuno. "I'm sorry _cough_ that I was so difficult."

Asta grinned. "You were pretty stubborn. You're gonna give me gray hair early."

Yuno smiled wryly. "Asta, you have ash blond hair, _cough_ pretty sure you're going to go old gray _cough_ before me." Yuno wiped his mouth with the towel that Asta had at the ready. "I love you too, you know. It's can only be you."

Asta sat on the bed and made a disgruntled face. "Nel basically spelled it out for me. I had time to think about it. I feel so bad that my obliviousness hurt so many people who I care about—Noelle, Mimosa, Leopold, Rebecca, you…"

"Stop. It's not your fault. You are very loveable," said Yuno. His felt his breathing become clearer as they spoke to each other. He was feeling better already. And he even stopped coughing. Was the curse fading? "Asta, you cannot control what other people feel. If anyone's to blame, it's that curse wizard."

Asta sighed. "Yeah. I guess…I just don't like my friends and family to hurt."

"I know," said Yuno. He took Asta's hand in his. Asta smiled at him, eyes shining brightly as always with love. How could have Yuno missed it? They fell into a comfortable silence, holding each other's hands. When they were boys, they held hands all the time. Yuno always felt so safe and protected when Asta reached his hand out for Yuno's. "Hey, so, we love each other. Now what?"

Asta titled his head and grinned. "Anything we want."

"Stay awhile then."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Golden Dawn Headquarters**  
**Outside of Yuno's Room**  
**40th Day of the Curse/Last Day of the Curse**  
**Mid-Morning**

"Fucking finally," Patri complained. Mimosa, William, Bell, Patri, and the rest of the Golden Dawn who were in headquarters were being very unprofessional and spying on Yuno and Asta. But let's just say that everyone there was happy to being having their captain back and finally official with Asta.

"As long as Yuno's happy," cried Bell, on William's shoulder.

Mimosa was crying too. She wanted Yuno to be happy for so long and she was equally as happy that Asta came to terms with his feelings that he hid forever. "I'm just so glad that everything worked out," said Mimosa. "You hear that, Noe-Noe?"

"_Yes, I heard, Mimosa! I agree with Patri. It's about damn time!"_

She had one of the magic communication devices with Noelle on the other side. Noelle was relaying the news to the rest of the cheering Black Bulls. Mimosa was just so excited.

"Oh, great, they are going to be gross in front of us even more," lamented Langris.

"Don't be like that Langris," sniffled Mimosa. "Now they know."

"Yeah, and it's going to be worse. They are already an old married couple at this point," said Langris, shaking his head. "I think I'm getting cavities from the sweetness."

"Drama king, much," responded Mimosa, wiping her eyes.

"Hey! Can you people get out of here?" The shouting was done by Asta, who peaked his head out of the bedroom door, startling everyone into scattering. "Honestly, just as bad as the Black Bulls…"

"Oops, we were caught!"

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**The Wizard King's Office**  
**40th Day of the Curse/Last Day of the Curse**  
**Afternoon**

"We knew that this would happen," said Fuegoleon, sitting in his chair behind the desk. Across from him was Nozel. Nozel looked stoic as ever, but Fuegoleon knew him too well. Nozel was annoyed. "The stalemate was decided before you even said a word. This is going to be a long campaign to get nobles and royals to one choice."

"I'm half-tempted to see what kind of blackmail Zora Ideale has on some of them," said Nozel.

"Let that be our last resort," said Fuegoleon. "You are going to have to tell your siblings. Between the Vermillion and the Magic Knights, we can surely find enough royals and nobles that will be sympathetic to your cause and then they can start convincing everyone else."

"Damnatio is a problem. He didn't like how the Summit was handled, but since it was a higher matter than his position, he couldn't do anything," said Nozel. "You and I both knew he was going to be up to something."

"Yeah, I just hate that this going to take months. And Family Day Festival is in 2 months, not mention the upcoming Magic Knight Exams, and then the Star Festival 3 months after that," said Fuegoleon, sighing. "I think Julius was the smart one, running off to the Heart Kingdom with Queen Ophie."

"He was always the best at getting out of actual paperwork," said Nozel, shaking his head. "We're just lucky that Dorothy finished finalizing everything for the Magic Knight exams before she went to sleep."

"I wish that Dotty was able to be awake more," said Fuegoleon, shaking his head. "I'm just glad that we have Yuno back."

"This curse was a big problem," said Nozel. "Too many of us hide our feelings under the guise of being Magic Knights first and people second."

Fuegoleon nodded. "Always be honest with your feelings is something that my mother tried to teach me and my siblings, but we didn't learn it until we were older. If Sal hadn't said anything to me about her feelings back then, we wouldn't be married right now."

Nozel smirked. "You two do make a cute couple."

"I know we do," said Sal, appearing in the office. Frankly, she probably walked through the door and the two hadn't noticed. "Hey, Fuegoleon. Nozel. So, guess what?"

"What," Fuegoleon asked, hesitantly. What could have Sal possibly found out within two days of being back in the Clover Kingdom from the Summit mission?

Sal grimaced. "There's been whispers about another demon. This time, in Clover. I don't know much else. It might be rumor, born out of fear, but I don't want to take any chances. I'm going to investigate. I'll be back when I can and send updates regularly."

"Where exactly are you going," asked Fuegoleon. While he always worried about Sal, Sal was self-sufficient and strong enough to handle mostly anything that came her way. Sal always had the autonomy to work on her own from Julius and from Fuegoleon (in the capacity as Wizard King).

"Forsaken Realm. There's a town there where the woman who wrote all the fairy tales lived. They've got an old abandoned castle there. I'm sure it's been looted, but you never know," said Sal. "Grimmtowne, I think it's called."

"Alright, let us know if you need backup. Stay safe, Sal."

"Always."

_Ch. End_

* * *

Thanks so much reading! I hoped you enjoyed it!

Clearly, there are only two more chapters left. As I closed a lot of plots in the last couple of chapters, these next ones will build things for the next sections of the universe. I'll have more information for you in the Epilogue chapter about the next stories.


	10. Chapter 10

SPOILERS!

-  
THE LATEST CHAPTERS OMG!

YUNO IS THE NEW VICE-CAPTAIN OF THE GOLDEN DAWN! OH SHIT! I KNEW THAT YUNO WOULD BE ON THE FAST PATH TO A CAPTAIN SPOT THAT BOY IS ALMOST THERE. ASTA'S GONNA BE SO PROUD AND A LITTLE JEALOUS! (Langris must be pissed AF)

Enjoy the chapter. More fluff than usual.

* * *

**White Carnation **  
_(Meaning) pure love_  
_**ONE MONTH LATER**_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**The Infirmary**  
**Morning**

"Big Sis, please stop pacing, you're stressing me out," said Leopold, sitting on the floor outside of the Magic Knights Headquarters infirmary.

"Shut up, Leo," replied Mereoleona, continuing her impatient pacing. She was not too worried. Her mother, Lady Solace, Lady Ruth and Dr. Owen were all in their monitoring the seal experts. Vice-Captain Vivian, Zora Ideale, Locke, and Styles, Secre and Ember were all in there helping to take the magic-blocking seals off of Mereo's girls. Nothing was going to go wrong. The girls were strong, and learning Common, so communication was easier.

"Why can't you just admit that you're nervous," asked Leopold. "Geez, it's too bad that Big Brother is stuck with Captain Nozel at Magic Parliament. He'd be able to calm you down."

Mereoleona glared at Leo. "You're more worried than me."

"Well, yeah. They have, like, 12 years without their magic and suddenly they are going to have it," said Leopold, huffing. "They're my precious nieces, you know." It was true that the girls loved "Unca Leo" and they knew by now that Leopold would spoil them rotten when he could. The girls had only been with them for two months, but they were family now and forever.

"I'm excited to get them training so they'll be able to defend themselves," said Mereoleona. It surprised even her mother that Mereoleona come to feel that if the girls didn't want to join the Magic Knights that was just fine with Mereoleona. As long as they were free to use their magic as they will (within reason) and enjoy life, it was all Mereoleona wanted. But they did need to know how to defend themselves.

"All done!" Their mother came out of the infirmary. "Everything went well. Hanima's already playing with her water magic!" Mereoleona and Leo rushed inside the infirmary to find Blue death glaring everyone, but most especially Zora, while Hanima was jumping up and down on the bed, water from her magic seeping from her hands like a waterfall. Sabriel was a lump in the bed.

"Hanima, you're getting water everywhere," said Mereoleona. "Blue, I'll punch Zora later for you. Sabriel, don't go back to sleep."

"Mama," Sabriel complained, as a lump in the bed. "Sleepy, sleepy."

"Mama, look at water!" Hanima was making it rain, excitedly as Grandma Solace clapped excitedly. (Dr. Owen looked less than thrilled at the now sopping wet bed that he was going to have to clean).

Blue just stood up on her bed and jumped on Zora, knocking the red-head Black Bull to the ground. "No, punch Zora, Mama. Zora nice, but don't know why."

"Gah, what the fuck? This is why I don't want kids," complained Zora, but no one was listening to him.

Mereoleona grinned.

Because, it's the first time they called her Mama.

"Leo, they called me Mama."

"I heard, Mereo," said Leo, grabbing her hand. "We've been practicing to surprise you. They wanted to do it earlier but they didn't know if it was okay. So I told the girls it was perfectly okay."

Mereoleona grabbed Leo into a bear hug. "You little shit…!"

"Aww, Big Sis, don't cry."

"I'll suffocate you right now, Leo, don't test me."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Magic Parliament Chambers**  
**Morning**

Noelle and her siblings were waiting with baited breathe as Damnatio Kira Clover went through the normal opening to a Magic Parliament meeting. Today, supposedly, after a month of hard campaigning, a little bribery (courtesy of Ember the Dragon), some blackmail (courtesy of Zora) and support from their closest friends and families, they were going to find out if Nozel's petition was going through to effectively dethrone their grandmother.

Fuegoleon, Aldebrand, Tarian, her twin sons, and Bennett were standing with Noelle and her big siblings. It was kind of nerve-wracking as the last time she was there, Noelle was busting into the place to rescue Asta and Secre. She usually wanted to stay away from this place and the judging eyes.

Grandmother Silva was across the room in one of the balconies, death glaring them.

"And now, for the major matter at hand. Captain Nozel Silva of the Silver Eagles Squad and the heir to House Silva brought a petition for a forcible replacement of a House Head, claiming that it was in the best interests of House Silva to have new, progressive leadership," announced Damnatio, with clear distaste in his voice. "The petition had been approved by every Royal and Noble House Head and ear-marked for approval by this time next week by the Clover King."

Noelle grinned up at Nozel, who looked stunned.

They actually did it.

With Nozel in charge, Noelle would be able to go to the Silva Homestead and visit her mother's grave more often and not feel like she wasn't welcome.

"Good work," said Nozel, softly, to Noelle, Solid, and Nebra, who all preened under his praise. "I couldn't have done it without you." Noelle grinned.

"Now, moving on to other state matters…"

"NO! I DON'T AGREE WITH THIS NONSENSE!"

Noelle winced. Grandmother Silva was throwing a fit with some Silva Aunties and Uncles trying to calm her down.

Damnatio, for once, helped. "Lady, sit down or so help me...I've enough of your damn family to last me a lifetime!"

"HOW DARE YOU, BRAT?!"

Noelle giggled. This was going to be interesting.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Noble Realm**  
**Purple Orca Headquarters**  
**Morning**

"Thanks for the ride, Finral," said Julius to the Black Bull. Finral had just so happened to be in the Capital when Julius and Prince Jules arrived to greet the Clover King and his family. Prince Jules will be staying with the Purple Orcas for the next six months, as part of his training. Julius and Prince Jules took an entire month to convince Ophie to let Jules come to the Clover Kingdom. Ophie had an intense bout of mother overprotectiveness due to the whole Summit and demon situation, which Julius understood, of course.

Both Julius and Jules had to promise to not get into any trouble. Of course, Ophie didn't define what kind of trouble, though it was probably life-threatening trouble that she wanted them to avoid.

"Of course, it's not a problem, Edward," said Finral. "Well, I have to get back and get Captain Yami. Hope you enjoy your stay in Clover, Prince Julian."

Jules replied, politely, "Thank you." With that Finral opened a portal and stepped through it, leaving Julius with his godson at the entrance to the Purple Orcas Headquarters. When Kaiser took over the squad, the squad moved from a gaudy statement of wealth to a modest selection of brownstones in a small city in the Noble Realm. Kaiser's family was into real estate, so basically the base was just a collection of two floor houses with one of the brownstones being the general meeting place for the squad.

This allowed for privacy amongst squad members, but also allow solid team-bonding by living together in groups of 3 or 4. (It helped also if there were couples who wanted their privacy too). Thankfully, Julius was given his own brownstone (under the guise of being the youngest there). Jules would get his own room for privacy.

"Edward, you're late! We've been waiting," shouted Vice-Captain Erica Putnam. Xerx had been rather contrite when Kaiser replaced him as Vice-Captain. Considering that Erica had been the one to be behind all the star gains of the Purple Orcas, but never got any of the credit, it was a good choice in Julius' opinion. "Welcome, Prince Julian. I hope you enjoy your stay here. And if Edward annoys you, you can take him to the training area outside of the city and fight him."

Jules grinned at the thought. "Thank you very much for having me, Vice-Captain Putnam. I'll be sure to be no trouble."

"What a polite boy," gushed Erica, "Come in, come in, you two."

"Don't give him ideas, Vice-Captain," pleaded Julius, trying to sound like a sixteen-year-old. "And he's not as polite as you think."

"Rude," mumbled Jules. Julius knew what his godson was doing—trying to get on the good side of everyone.

"Everyone's excited that you're back, Edward. And happy to meet you Prince Julian," said Erica, smiling, as they were led inside to the meeting brownstone house.

"It's good to be home."

And Julius was going to be thrilled to go visit all the squads and introduce Jules to everyone with all their awesome magic! Having Jules here would actually give Julius things to do, since he technically didn't go on real missions (his missions were actually advising Fuego and the Captains, but they were disguised as simple missions). It would also be nice to bond with Jules a bit more. And Yami told Julius to bring Jules by for a Black Bulls barbeque!

Julius had a feeling that Jules' stay here would be a great one.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**The Wizard King's Office**  
**Just After Noon**

Mimosa did not know why she, Langris and Yuno were called to the office, but they arrived Captain Nozel, Vice-Captain Vivian, and of course, cousin Fuegoleon were there. Yuno probably knew what was going on but he was quiet on the subject (not that he wasn't quiet all the time, outside of Magic Knight work). She knew from Noelle that Nozel's petition had been decided on in Magic Parliament, so maybe that was what it was about, but Mimosa didn't know how she or Langris or Yuno were involved.

"Thank you for coming," said Fuegoleon, smiling at them. Captain Nozel, Vivian, Yuno, Mimosa and Langris were standing before their Wizard King. "We have some good news. Nozel will become, officially starting next week, the Head of House Silva."

Mimosa clasped her hands together. Oh that was really good news. How exciting, this was going to be a good thing for Noelle and her other cousins.

"Congratulations," said Yuno, monotone. Despite being healed from the curse, his throat had gotten quite damaged, so he had to be careful as he went through healing sessions with Lady Ruth.

Nozel nodded in thanks.

"With that being said," said Fuegoleon, "Nozel will no longer have the time to run the Silver Eagles as Captain with his new duties as House Head. Nozel will remain in the Magic Knights in his same rank as a Grand Magic Knight, however. What this means is that there is a need for a new Silver Eagles Captain."

Mimosa realized what was going to happen. She felt a great excitement in her heart. She started smiling uncontrollably, as she glanced at Langris.

"Langris Vaude, you have been the Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn for years, despite some issues, you have grown into an honorable, fine Magic Knight. I offer you the chance to take the Silver Eagles Captaincy, if you so wish," said Fuegoleon, giving an encouraging smile.

Langris almost reached for Mimosa's hand, which got Mimosa's heart beating, and said, "I am honored. I accept and you have my word that I will do my very best to make certain that you will not regret this decision. Thank you, Lord Fuegoleon, Lord Nozel."

Fuegoleon nodded. "Wonderful. You will start next week as well."

"Vice-Captain Vivian," said Nozel, interjecting, "is a fine second-in-command, Captain Langris. She will help you acclimate to the Silver Eagles."

Langris nodded. "Please take care of me, then, Vice-Captain Vivian."

Vice-Captain Vivian smiled. "The pleasure is mine, Captain."

Mimosa was so proud of Langris. He really had come a long way from the mean and bitter young man. It was his goal to become Captain sooner rather than later and he had been so hurt when Yuno got picked as the Golden Dawn Captain over him. But thankfully, Langris didn't let that rejection consume and did his job well as Yuno's Vice-Captain.

"That's not all," said Yuno. Mimosa was so going to scold him later. Yuno clearly had been in the loop about Langris' promotion and he didn't tell her. "Since I'll be losing my Vice-Captain, so Mimosa will be my new official Vice-Captain."

Mimosa blinked. Of course, she knew that Langris had been training her to be a Vice-Captain and she was known to be the unofficial Vice-Captain, but she didn't think that she actually get the position. "Thank you, I'll do my best."

"I know you will," said Yuno.

"I expect great things out of all of you," said Fuegoleon. "Thank you for coming." They were dismissed.

Vivian, Langris, Yuno and herself left the Wizard King's office, leaving Fuegoleon and Nozel to speak amongst themselves. Mimosa can wait to tell everyone.

"I will send some of the squad to come and pick your stuff up, Captain Langris," said Vivian, nodding. "Just let me know when. I'll see you next week." With that she went off in her own direction, before Langris had a chance to respond. Mimosa knew that Vivian was probably exhausted at this point, after being in charge of getting the magic-blocking seals off of Mereo's girls that morning.

"Hey, Captain Yuno," said Langris, suddenly.

"What?"

"Thanks."

"For what," Yuno asked confused.

Mimosa heard the scoff in Langris' tone, but she didn't speak. The two needed to talk. "I know I wasn't in line for a Captaincy of a squad next. Asta should have gotten it."

"You'd be better in the Silver Eagles," said Yuno, honestly. "And Asta's happy where he is right now."

Langris snorted. "Well, you finally got rid of me."

"I haven't. We're fellow Captains now," said Yuno, a grin in his voice but not on his face.

Mimosa giggled. "You two will miss each other, don't lie."

Yuno and Langris both made strangle noises of emotionally-constipated men, who didn't want to admit that they respected each other. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a familiar head of hair. She recalled that Asta told her that he got gifts for Mereoleona's girls.

"There's Asta, I'm going," said Yuno, high-tailing it out of there to catch up with his boyfriend. Mimosa grinned. Yuno and Asta were so cute together, as they met up, both big smiles on their faces, and walked off hand-in-hand.

"They are so stupid, they deserve each other," grumbled Langris.

Mimosa laughed. "But you're happy for them."

"I guess," said Langris.

They walked towards the exit so that Langris could transport them to the Golden Dawn Headquarters. After all, Langris had to pack to leave next week. And suddenly, Mimosa realized that she wouldn't get to see Langris every day (when they weren't on missions) or be able to take care of him when he forgot to eat. Mimosa would miss him and worry about him.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah," said Mimosa, realizing that she was tearing up. She knew that this was it. She had to be blunt with this dense man. She hugged him, causing him to squeak. "I like you so much, Langris. Will you go out on a date with me?"

"Really?" Langris said it softly, gently, very unlike him. And then, he hugged her back. "I really like you too. Yeah, a date sounds nice."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Magic Knight Headquarters**  
**Just After Noon**

"You think Mimosa is going to ask him now," questioned Asta, as he and Yuno walked hand-in-hand. Since they were both still very busy, they had to get time together when they were able to get a few minutes.

"I hope," said Yuno, gently. His throat still hurt sometimes. "How are Captain Mereoleona's girls?"

"Hanima flooded the infirmary in her excitement," said Asta, grinning. "Blue is Zora's new best friend. And Sabriel claims that she's "dead" and won't get out of bed."

"That's hilarious," said Yuno, grinning softly. "Sabriel sounds like my type of kid."

"Well, you might wind up giving her lessons. Her magic is wind," said Asta, grinning. "Noelle's already planning on giving Hanima lessons."

"Yeah, Patri's looking forward to teaching Blue," said Yuno, thinking of the old elf. "Captain Mereoleona hadn't even asked him, he just assumed."

Asta laughed. "The girls are good kids. They are getting used to everyone. I can't wait until they meet Marie tonight. She's a couple years older than them but I think it'll be good for them to get a friend. You're still coming to the barbeque?"

"Wouldn't miss it," said Yuno. "I want to meet that Heart Prince."

"Yeah, I've seen him but haven't gotten a chance to talk to him. He's like eternally annoyed with "Edward"."

"Ah, "Edward's" met his match then," replied Yuno. There were only a handful of people that called Julius out on his nonsense—namely Lady Nickole and Marx.

"Hey, I'm awake, love me," said Bell, knocking herself into Yuno's cheek for affectionate. Yuno sighed.

"Morning, Bell," said Yuno. "Where were you last night? You had better not been getting into nonsense with Salamander again."

Bell huffed and moved from Yuno to Asta's fluffy hair. Since Asta and Yuno finally got together, Bell had been considerably kinder to Asta recently when she realized that Asta would take her side if Yuno was being mean. "Asta, Yuno's being mean to me."

"Aww, poor thing."

"Traitors."

"His hair is fluffier than yours. Half the time I'm not sure you even wash it with soap," said Bell, complained.

"Yuno, you need to use soap to wash your hair! How many times do I have to remind you of that," asked Asta, scolding. "I swear, Bell, when we were kids, if I didn't wash his hair for him, he'd never do it." Yuno's face flushed at the reminder.

Bell gasped. "You take such good care of Yuno, Asta."

"Brats, the both of you," stated Yuno.

"You love us anyway," chorused Asta and the wind sprite cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, I love you both. So embarrassing."

"Love you too, Yuno."

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls' Hideout**  
**Evening**

Nozel knew to expect bedlam when Noelle invited him, Nebra and Solid to the Black Bulls barbeque that they planned to celebrate Yami and Charlotte getting together and all the other good things that happened recently. Nozel was not big on parties, but knowing the Black Bulls, the food would be good and he could hide off to the side while his siblings had fun.

"Hey, you're here," said Noelle, running up to them. She gave them each a hug, which had Solid grumbling, Nebra preening and Nozel blushing. Once Nozel hugged Noelle on his return, Noelle had decided to become a hugging fiend towards them. Nozel didn't mind in the least. "There's food already made and there are drinks."

"Magna, Sol, Klaus, you starting drinking without me! Rude," called Nebra to her friends. Nozel assumed they were friends these days. Nebra patted Noelle on the head before going over to those three, who were clearly into the booze playing a drinking game.

"I'm not staying up with her at 2 in the morning to hold her hair back this time," said Solid, rolling his eyes. "Ohh, beef sticks." Solid wandered away towards the food, where Jack, Lady Solace, Aunt Nickole and Magna's mom were handling the grill, while keeping a drooling Charmy at bay from eating all the food there. Julius/Edward was hanging with Locke and Styles, deep in conversation. Asta was gesturing wildly in the middle of a conversation with the young Heart Prince, who looked at Asta with admiration.

Yuno looked clearly annoyed at the outcome. Nozel thought that Yuno needed to realize that Asta was going to get more admirers, even if the two were together properly now. Asta was just that enigmatic and kind.

"Yeah, I know right? Prince Jules, for like a minute, was kind of crushing on me, but then Asta saved the day and you know…how that goes. It's Asta." Noelle said, shrugging, as she followed Nozel's line of sight to the chaotic scene before him. "Go and sit, Big Brother, I'll get you some food."

Noelle dragged him towards the couches that they Black Bulls pulled outside, where Vanessa was lounging on one of the couches (Nozel averted his eyes quickly, out of respect). Mimosa and Langris sat on another, holding hands and blushing. Finral was off to the side crying happily about how his little brother was growing up, he was also clearly inebriated too, while Lady Finesse attempted to console him with a fond smile on her face.

"Ah, so Langris finally asked," muttered Nozel.

"Yeah, Ember's not too happy about it," said Noelle, pointing at the shapeshifting dragon death-glaring Langris. Nozel secretly like that Noelle and Mimosa had a dragon protecting them when he wasn't looking. "And neither is Zora."

Nozel looked over at the masked red-head, who was scowling at the new couple.

"Tell them both that they can't kill Langris. He's the new Silver Eagles Captain," said Nozel.

"Yeah, no worries, as long as Mimosa's happy, Langris' safe," said Noelle, nodding. "Mimosa already yelled Zora for throwing stink bugs at Langris. Oh, right, I'm gonna get you some food." She rushed over to Aunt Nickole to get him some hot food.

Nozel stood there awkwardly for a minute when Vanessa's voice called out,

"Captain Nozel, come and sit with me." His witch friend sat up properly on the couch instead of lying across it to make room for him. Nozel went over and sat down, and immediately, she leaned into his personal space. He quite didn't mind much. She was warm and probably a little drunk at the point. "Ah, it's been so lonely."

"Hmm, yeah," said Nozel, looking over to see Charlotte and Yami holding hands while bickering with each other. Nozel rolled his eyes, nothing changed between them, still both irritating as ever. "I get it."

"Here," said Noelle, coming over and giving Nozel a plate of food and a plate of food to Vanessa. "Miss Vanessa, don't traumatize my Big Brother."

"Hah, no promises," said Vanessa, winking at Noelle. "Oh look who's here! Kahono, Kiato!" Noelle's head whipped around to find her girlfriend and her girlfriend's brother. Noelle's face lit up with a big smile, as she went over to greet the siblings. "Noelle and Kahono are so cute together."

"Very," said Nozel, admitted.

"You should be happier. You're the House Head and can make so that your siblings are happy," said Vanessa, gently.

"I am happy," said Nozel.

She poked his cheek. "Smile more, handsome."

Nozel's face flushed and he awkwardly said, "Stop teasing."

"You're too cute." She tried to move his mouth with her gloved fingers to make him smile. He wasn't trying his best not to smile at this point.

"Embarrassing us Silva is your favorite pastime time, huh?"

"Well, at least, teasing you and Noelle."

Nozel let out a short breathy laugh. "You're not supposed to admit it."

Vanessa giggled.

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Forsaken Realm**  
**Black Bulls' Hideout**  
**Evening**

"Is that asshole flirting with Vanessa," grumbled Yami, eyeing a giggling Vanessa and a blushing Nozel talking to each other, completely in their own little world. Charlotte rolled her eyes, scoffing.

"Vanessa is a grown woman, Yami," she said. "And I think it's sweet."

Yami made a face. "Ugh."

"Get over it," said Charlotte. "I'd be more worried about Gauche getting murdered by two overprotective Vermillion siblings."

Mereoleona and Leopold had brought the girls and the newest additions to the Vermillion family immediately made friend with Marie Adlai. While the Vermillion girls were about eleven or twelve (no one was sure of their ages, not even the girls), Marie was thirteen, but that didn't deter the kind-hearted young girl from being a delightfully welcoming presence. Marie was gushing over the girls' magic, while Gauche glowered in the corner.

Leopold looked to be ready to bust a head. Mereoleona was egging on the girls, however, to try their magic out.

"I can't believe that demon woman is a mother."

"She's a good mom already," said Charlotte, beaming. "Everyone is having such a good time. Yami, I can't believe you remembered."

"I promised, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. This is the best," said Charlotte. "Thank you."

_Ch. End_

* * *

Welp, all that's left for this installment is the Epilogue.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

At the end of the Epilogue, I'm going to let you know all about what stories are coming next in this AU world.


	11. Epilogue

**Gladiolus **  
_(Meaning) character, faithfulness, honor, strength, moral integrity_  
_**ANOTHER MONTH LATER**_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Capital City**  
**Family Day Celebrations**  
**Morning**

Blue Vermillion did not like crowds. Crowds were unsafe, especially in cities. But she and her sisters were with Mama and Uncle Leo, walking through the streets of the Clover Capital after listening to Uncle Fuego's boring speech about family at the opening ceremony. Blue found it weird that there was a whole holiday to celebrate family, because according to Grandmamma, family was supposed to be celebrated every day.

Sabriel conned Uncle Leo into giving her a piggy-back ride, so she could take a nap. It was good to see Sabriel so comfortable to sleep these days. When Blue had first met Sabriel, Sabriel hadn't slept more than a couple of hours a day.

Hanima, with enough food and rest, was energetic and enthusiastically curious about everything to do with magic. Mama held one of Hanima's hands so Hanima wouldn't run off and get herself lost. Hanima, Blue remembered, had a horrible sense of direction. Blue and Sabriel would spend hours looking for Hanima, when they had lost track of her while they were traveling together.

Mama also held Blue's hand, even though Blue didn't need it. Blue would be the biggest idiot in the world, if she ever thought about running away from Mama for no reason.

The moment that Blue and her sisters ran into Mereoleona in the wilds, Blue had, for some reason, instantly trusted the fiery, strong woman. Blue didn't trust easily. Sabriel and Hanima were one thing, they were the same age and had similar…issues. Blue even took a while to warm up to her new grandparents and uncles, despite them being some of the warmest people she had ever met. But Mama had been different.

Mama hadn't looked at them with pity or saw them as weak. No, Blue knew that Mama originally took them to train into Magic Knights. Somewhere along the way, Mama changed her mind and wanted to be _their mother._ Blue learned that when something came to her Mama's mind, she did it. Mama was a woman of her word and so Blue trusted her.

Blue didn't remember her birth mother. She remembered bits and pieces of what her Pa told her about Blue's birth mother, but not much else. But Blue would like to think that Pa and her Birth Ma would have liked Mereoleona.

Not since Pa died had Blue felt safe and loved as she did here and Blue was happy that fate brought Mereoleona to her and her sisters. Blue had been trying her best to get them to safety and out of that hell, but they were weak, hungry and tired.

"Look who it is," said one of the many familiar voices that Blue had gotten used to since coming here. It was Asta, the only man in the world with no magic whatsoever. Mama was fond of him. Asta was walking with his boyfriend, the quiet Captain of the Golden Dawn, Yuno and other fellow Magic Knights, Cousin Mimosa and Captain Langris. "Are you girls having fun?"

Asta was a nice man, smiled brightly all the time. He was fun.

Hanima and Sabriel still had some trouble with Common, but Asta seemed to understand their responses in a positive light. Blue was able to speak in complete sentences. Her father taught her enough Common to understand what was happening, but the speaking part was hard.

"Everything is good," said Blue, with her own response.

"You all have such pretty outfits! Did you get those from your shopping trip with my brother," asked the soft voice of Cousin Mimosa. Blue was shocked to learn that when she and her sisters joined the Vermillion family that they had gained a lot of relatives. Cousin Mimosa was so pretty and sweet, but she was dating a guy with a grumpy face, the new Captain of the Silver Eagles.

"Yes," said Blue, nodding.

"Big Brother does love shopping," said Cousin Mimosa, brightly.

Cousin Mimosa's big brother was Cousin Kirsch and he was a riot. Grandmamma had wanted to take them shopping for Family Day outfits, but she had gotten called away to do some healing for the King. Since Grandmamma insisted they get new outfits, Mama had to get them, but Mama said "Like fuck, I'm going to the shopping district," and promptly called Cousin Kirsch.

Cousin Kirsch was weird, but in a good way. Blue and Sabriel both balked at the idea of dresses and frills (though Hanima's eyes got bright with the thought or pretty dresses and Blue was glad that Hanima would get the chance to have them). He knew all the best places to get outfits, guiding them to the best, most comfortable, but still age-appropriate and Grandmamma-approved outfits. Blue also liked Cousin Kirsch because his favorite person was Zora and Zora was Blue's favorite non-family person. Zora was really cool and kind, in Blue's opinion.

"So, Captain Mereoleona, are you taking the girls to eat somewhere awesome," asked Asta. "We think that Captain Yami and Captain Jack opened up food stands again, so we can get some good food from their competition."

"Girls, are you hungry?"

"Mama, we always hungry," said Sabriel, sleepily from Uncle Leo's back.

Mama let out a rough laugh. "Right, right. Let's tagalong on these brats' double date."

"Wha? It's not a double date," retorted Langris.

"It is," said Mimosa, countering her boyfriend's statement. "He's just shy, don't mind him."

Blue held back some laughter. These people were always so funny. Being here and having people who cared made Blue not-so-sad anymore. She felt happier these days. Sure there were days where she was really sad and angry, but those days were getting less and less as time went onward.

"OH! I think Gauche brought Marie with him," said Asta, suddenly. "Marie loved playing with you guys at the party we had last month. We can go and find them before we eat and drag them with us."

"Marie," asked Hanima, bouncing. "I like her!"

"Mhmmh, me too," sighed Sabriel, falling back asleep on Uncle Leo, who was chuckling.

Blue liked Marie. She was cute, pretty and really smart. Marie didn't even mind that she, Sabriel and Hanima had a hard time communicating because she said that her brother Gauche wasn't good at communicating his feelings into words either, so Marie had to get good at it. Blue wanted to make a lot of friends, but Marie was the first one. "Okay. But then food."

"Let's go get them," cheered Mama. "Which way do you think, Blue?"

Blue concentrated—it turned out that she was the best at sensing mana and she vaguely remembered Marie's. Mama was strict about giving little tests like this to keep Blue on her toes. Hanima had training with Lady Noelle and Sabriel trained sometimes with Captain Yuno and sometimes with Uncle Leo. Other than Mama, Blue trained with the elf Patri, who was really good at light magic.

"That way," said Blue, pointing down some street.

"Awesome, let's go," yelled Asta, excitedly.

The group headed down the street to find Marie and Gauche and then to get food.

Blue really liked her new family.

_Ch. End_

_But the story isn't over yet…_

* * *

AND THIS IS DONE! Holy moly, I never thought it be past 100K words. This Hanahaki AU started as a simple YunoAsu story, but then I just had so many ideas! Thanks to everyone for your support!

So, now, what you've been waiting for, what comes next?

1-Bellflowers - Aubrey of Rayaka, Magna's little sister of sorts, joins the Magic Knights; and she keeps running into the annoying Heart Prince Jules. - Listen, I love Prince Jules, I honestly didn't expect that he'd grow on me so much. And Aubrey (you can read a bit about her in Butterfly Flowers) has a story that I wanted to write. I know that they are two OCs and some may not want to read it, but I'm gonna do it anyway!

2-Freesia & Magnolia Petals - As Kirsch's impending wedding grows closer, Zora becomes more and more irritable. It doesn't help that he and Kirsch gets thrown into a mission together that's more dangerous than it seems. - Zora/Kirsch is one of my favorite ships and I'm the only one that writes them, but that's okay. I'm pretty excited for this story. I think you'll like it too.

3-Geraniums - Magna never thought that he'd fall in love, let alone fall in love with the rule-abiding stick-in-the-mud member of the Golden Dawn, Klaus Lunettes. Life was funny that way. - There was not enough Magna or Klaus in Gladiolus. Shame on me. I love these two senpai (they are at the opposite ends of the senpai spectrum). You're going to enjoy this one too. It'll have more flashback chapters!

So the plan is to work on these three stories, as they are going to be happening simultaneously (Around the same time-frame, starting one month after the Gladiolus Epilogue).

Don't worry, I'm putting together the guide to this AU and I'll post in in the endnotes in Gladiolus and the upcoming stories, but also in the series description.

ONCE AGAIN,

Thanks so much for reading and your continued support! See you in Part 3 of the Gladiolus AU!


End file.
